Travelling Mage, Karina
by Binky Bridgewater
Summary: Karina Van Kreizer is a 17 year old girl traveling with her 15 year old brother, Tanzeru. They couldn't afford rent in Clover Town, so they escaped to Magnolia. Although Karina's magical power consists of lightning abilities, she's afraid of lightning.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Lightning always seems to crash on the harshest of days for me. Even now, my brother and I are being forced out of yet another one of our homes, but it can't be helped, I can't afford to pay this month's rent. I was just lucky a flash storm hit Clover Town, otherwise we would have been kicked out this morning. At least this way, we have time to pack and we can use this time to leave without being noticed. I threw my bag over my shoulder and silently peeked through the door, motioning to my brother that it was time to leave.

As we ran through the harsh rain, my brother kept his head low as if he was upset or something. I couldn't just leave him like that so we stopped inside a nearby café. It was closed, that is, until I broke it open, thankfully no one was there. We sat down at a table by the window, leaving a trail of water. We were completely soaked.

"What's wrong, why did we stop here?"

"I should be asking you. You've been staring at the ground since we started running. What the heck is going on with you, Tanzeru?"

He slouched a bit in his seat and turned his head to look out the window. "I just don't get why we have to travel from town to town so often. If we can't afford rent, how come we can afford two tickets for a train to Magnolia? Can't we just use you're wind magic to fly there, huh Karina?"

"Idiot, I told you before, my power isn't strong enough to carry two people and I'm not leaving you behind. Plus, we're not paying for the tickets, we're sneaking on."

I could see his frown drop lower as he rested his head on the table and stared out the window. I knew he didn't like the idea of sneaking on the train, he didn't like the idea of doing anything illegal. Right now, I wish I could tell what he was thinking. His wet, white hair was stuck to his face and his misty blue eyes looked sad. I couldn't help but stare at him for a moment, glancing down on his shoulder. He may have been wearing a shirt, but I could still see a part of his scar. The scar… that I caused all those years back, but, I don't have time to dwell in the past right now. I got up and left the café. I had to clear my mind. Tanzeru ran out behind me calling for me to wait but I pretended like I didn't hear him and kept walking. Finally, he caught up to me and grabbed my shoulder.

"Geez, what happened to not leaving me behind?" he said sarcastically. I couldn't tell him what I was actually thinking.

"I just figured that we should have a race to the train station. We already fell behind schedule, but if we run our fastest we could catch the train."

"Oh, so you were just trying to catch a lead, you little cheater." with his tone of voice, I couldn't tell whether he believed me or not. I stuck out my tongue and ran. I could feel a smile creep up on my face. I could definitely enjoy moments like these since no matter how hard he tried, he could never beat me athletically.

…

When Tanzeru finally reached the train station, I could see the clouds clearing up. He leaned on the wall next to me panting like a dog during a hot summer's day. From the distance we could hear the train's whistle. Judging by the time, it was the train to go to Magnolia, so it was just about time to execute the plan. After we get on the train, when the guy comes around for the tickets we'll just cause a commotion and make it last until the end of the train ride. Then we'll run off and hide out. The plan was vague enough to work.

I could hear the conductor yell out, "All aboard! Train to Magnolia leaving in three minutes." I nonchalantly walked up to the line until I felt someone pull me back. It was Tanzeru.

"Listen, I know you don't like the idea of sneaking on the train, but…", he cut me off.

"Its not that, just look!" He pointed to the front of the line, where a short man in a blue uniform was collecting tickets.

Damn! I didn't expect this. No matter though, I can think of a plan within three minutes. As time went by Tanzeru began to panic. The conductor called out again, "Train to Magnolia leaving in thirty seconds! All aboard who's going abroad!" Finally it hit me!

"Tanzeru go up there and chat with the little guy. When you see me run on board, push the little guy down and get in behind me. If I time it just right, the doors should close behind us." And just like that we ran to our various destinations. Tanzeru ran to talk to the ticket handler, while I made a little stop. I grabbed the lever for the emergency brake and pulled it out of its socket. I stuffed it in my bag and looked around to make sure no one was looking. Then, I ran top speed to the train. I saw Tanzeru look at me before he pushed the ticket handler down. In a panic, hoping he won't get caught, he ran inside the train ahead of time.

The doors were beginning to close and I still wasn't inside. I picked up the pace, running faster than I ever thought I could. I jumped in the train, barely making it. "Good job!" Tanzeru gave me a thumbs up. "Thanks to you I almost got left behind. '_Good_ _job!' _Don't screw with me!" I don't think I've ever been so angry before.

Out the train window, I could see the ticket handler scrambling to find the emergency brakes, so I tapped on the glass to get his attention, then I pulled it out my bag. I only wish I could hear what he was screaming, but the train was about to pull off, all I could hear were the wheels screeching.

Suddenly as we began moving, everything seemed like it was spinning. I could barely hold back the barf building up in my mouth. My body became light and I fell back into the chair. I could hear my brother yelling.

"Karina! Big sis, are you okay!"

I could barely build up the strength to respond, "I forgot I was motion sick."

This is going to be a long, two hour train ride. Ughh!

**And here ends the prologue that will begin an exciting chapter for Fairy Tail. Will this mean new allies or new enemies? I can't tell you now, but you'll find out soon. Plus, you can check out another story I'm working on, its called Prince of Warfare. See you soon, hopefully by next week Friday!**


	2. Encountering the Salamander

**Chapter 1**

Finally, after two hours of suffering, the train finally pulled to a halt. The wheels screeched as we pulled into the Magnolia train station. Tanzeru hopped out the train doors full of energy, while me on the other hand, was barely able to stand. I could see Tanzeru stretching from being in the cramped train for so long. I began to wobble towards the exit, my stomach still uneasy, but the doors closed before I could get out. The train's wheels started to move again, but Tanzeru's back was turned. I used the last bit of my strength to lean out the window and call out weakly, "Tanzeru." He looked over his shoulder and began to panic as the train began to pick up speed as it left the station, with me still on board leaning out an open window. "Save me…. Tanzeru!" I couldn't hold it in anymore. I barfed out the window and fell back in my seat. Out the corner of my eye, I could see Tanzeru on the side of the train, right next to my window, running to catch up. He jumped into the window sill and grabbed me by my shirt. He lost balance and fell backwards, pulling me out with him. As we hit the ground we rolled, however, I rolled a bit further and crashed into the wall.

It took me a few minutes to recover before we set out in Magnolia. First thing we had to do was find a temporary hide-out. Luckily we found an abandoned old shop-house in town. The only thing inside was an old couch, an old worn out blanket, and a few crates left lying around. I threw my bag on the ground and lounged on the old couch while Tanzeru searched the crates for anything we could use. The couch's springs were sticking out and the cloth was ripped up, but it still was one of the most comfortable things I've ever slept on. It felt like Tanzeru was searching those crates for hours, I nearly fell asleep waiting. He was just sitting there, searching through each crate one by one. He stopped at one particular crate, it seemed like he was confused about something. He kept scratching his head and tapping his feet.

"What's the matter, Tanzeru?"

"They're all full of books except for this one. As a matter of fact, I can't even tell what the heck this is?"

It sounded a bit interesting, so I went to check it out, but when I got there, it was something I definitely didn't expect. It was a wooden-board with four wheels attached. The ends were curved upwards. Whatever it was, it wasn't from around here. Tanzeru turned it over. "It has something written here, but its in a foreign language. I've never seen this before."

As an older sibling, I loved being able to feel superior so I grabbed the wooden board from him and said, "Aren't you glad your big sister is here! Now let me translate for you." I looked at the letters and immediately recognized the language. "I wouldn't expect you to recognize this. As a matter of fact, the only reason I know this is because a weird old man taught me as an addition to a reward for doing a job for him. This is an ancient language known as English, it is believed that it comes from a whole other world."

"Somehow it sounds like you're making things up. I've never even heard of 'English'."

"Listen and I'll translate. It reads 'Made in A-me-ri-ca' or something like that."

"Where the hell or what the is hell is an A-me-ri-ca?"

"Probably something from the other world where English comes from."

Quite honestly, I don't even know if I read that right, but he doesn't need to know that. "Anyway whatever it is I want it. I could put it to good use." Tanzeru knows he can't argue with me when I find something I'm interested in, so he didn't bother to waste his breath.

Suddenly, the shop-house caught on fire. The already destroyed roof began to drop as the fire choked it. Large pieces of wood began to fall and set the floor on fire. Smoke was rising quickly. The flames were more intense than any other I've felt before. Tanzeru grabbed three of the fourteen crates and ran out the back door calling out to me, "Karina hurry up, its dangerous in there!" I couldn't leave the board with wheels behind, it was much too interesting. I grabbed the board, slung my bag over my shoulder, and ran out to where Tanzeru was waiting. "That was dangerous. You could've suffocated in there, what were you thinking?" Tanzeru snarled. He often got angry when he felt I was 'endangering my life. Listening to us, you could never tell that I was the older one since he always acted like my older brother.

We ran to the front of the building to see what caused the fire. There were two boys, one girl, and a blue cat standing in front of the building. One of the boys had spikey, pink hair and an angry facial expression. Somehow he reminded me of a dragon with the ferocious glare in his eyes. The other boy had black hair and a cool face, but he was practically nude except for his underwear. Finally the girl was the only normal looking one. She had blonde hair that was pulled into a side ponytail, but she was yelling something. Tanzeru and I leaned in closer, but was careful to stay hidden.

"Natsu! You and Gray already destroyed half of the town we just left, and now you go and burn down a building!" The girl was yelling at the pink-haired boy, so I assumed his name was Natsu.

"Its all this stupid Gray's fault! He's the one who started mouthing off to me!" Natsu screamed in the black haired guy's face whom I'm going to assume is Gray. "Isn't that right, Happy!" Suddenly the blue cat sprout wings and flew into the air and yelled, "Aye, sir!"

"Karina! Did you see that? The cat just talked! It talked and flew!"

I couldn't stand back and listen to them spout nonsense anymore. The fact was that they just burned down our temporary hide-out and nearly killed us. A crime like that doesn't go without punishment and I'm going to be the one to deliver it. I ran out wearing an intimidating face, ready to crack some skulls if I had to.

"Hey! Who the hell do you think you are!" Tanzeru ran out from the shadows, grabbed my shoulder, and yelled "Hey Karina! Don't go out picking fights like that!" I was so angry and didn't even listen to him. I pulled away from him and continued, "So what, now you're quiet!"

Natsu yelled back, "I don't know who you are, but nobody talks to Salamander like that!" By this time his hands were covered with swirling flames and fire was in his breath. It was no doubt he knew flame magic, but I've never seen flame magic so powerful. Could it possibly be that he's using dragon slayer magic, but I hear that dragon slayer magic died out and now it's an ancient magic now. Nobody should know it. He balled his fists and came at me trying to punch me but I blew him away with my wind magic.

"Natsu stop it!" The blonde girl was trying to hold Natsu back while Tanzeru tried to hold me down. "If you don't stop, Master Makarov will get angry!"

Natsu suddenly stopped rampaging and looked flustered, "Oh crap, gramps is gonna be angry if we don't hurry up!"

They ran off and left us behind, now that really pissed me off. I broke away from Tanzeru and ran after them, making sure I stayed out of their site. I knew Tanzeru was following me, but I just wanted to keep track of those guys. They weren't going to get away from me.

I followed them to a large building with a sign out front that read 'Fairy Tail'. I heard that name before, but I couldn't quite place my finger on it. Right now it doesn't matter. I don't plan on fighting them now, but I'll be back first thing in the morning, especially now that I know where to find them. I'll be back to fight them, especially that Natsu 'Salamander' guy. He better watch his back.

**Looks like Karina doesn't realize what kind of trouble she has on her hands now that she's picked a fight with Natsu. Will she be able to hold her own in their next battle or will she be overwhelmed by Natsu. By the way that board with wheels she found is a skateboard. Plus I remembered that the letters they use in Fairy Tail isn't English or Japanese so I wanted to make a joke ^^. Hopefully I'll have an early chapter release again. **


	3. Salmander vs Traveller

Chapter 2

**Today, I woke up with the urge to bash some skulls. Tanzeru and I were forced to sleep in an alley, thanks to Natsu burning the shop-house down. But, I plan on returning the favor one hundred times over. I knew Tanzeru wouldn't approve of me looking for a fight, that's why I was sure to wake up before he did, that way he couldn't stop me. I was determined to get to this 'Fairy Tail' place as soon as possible, especially now that I have found a good use for that board with wheels. **

**I took my bag and slung it over my shoulder, after all, you could never be too prepared. I put the board with wheels on the ground and stood up on the top, with the wheels on the ground. I stretched my arms out, one directly in front of me and one directly behind me and put my legs in this same position. It was the best way to keep balance. I also decided to wear my special gloves for the occasion. They were black gloves, much like the ones boxers use, but these ones were specifically made for wind magic users. It helps us to capture and control the surrounding wind with ease. Perfect for beating the crap out of Natsu.**

**As I stood on the board, I waited for the perfect gust of wind to pass. When it finally came, I used it to push my board forward. Now, even if the wind got weaker, the wheels will keep me going until the wind gets stronger again. For this reason, I named the board with wheels, a 'wind-board'. When I stooped down on the board, I went even faster and soon I was zooming down the streets of Magnolia. **

**I took the same route those three and their cat took the other day and ended up in front of Fairy Tail in a flash. The problem was trying to figure out how to stop the wind-board. Without thinking, I put my hands on the front of it, where it was curved, and I pulled up on it as hard as I could. The board flipped over and I flipped along with it. I landed face first in the dirt, leaving a small impression of my face in the ground.**

**I got up and I filled my cheeks with air and yelled to the top of my lungs, "Natsu! You pink-haired bastard, Come out here and fight me if you have the guts!" Within a second Natsu came stomping outside completely ablaze with fire, I think I really pissed him off, but that was what I was trying to do. A large crowd of people followed closely behind Natsu. **

"**I didn't think you were so chicken you would bring a gang to back you up."**

"**Don't worry, these guys ain't gonna jump in, they're just here to watch me beat the crap outta ya!" he snarled with an irritating and arrogant smirk.**

"**Well I hate to disappoint the crowd, but seems like they came for nothing, then. By the way I'll give you the first hit, and to make it fair, I won't even try to avoid it." I returned the same irritatingly arrogant smirk he gave me.**

"**Don't get mad if you can't move anymore after this!" He focused all the fire to his fist and came at me and just like I promised I didn't move an inch. Natsu didn't scare me at all, I stood my ground. That's when it hit me, his fist that is. Right in my jaw, too. It felt like a dragon who's fists were on fire just hit me. If my legs weren't so strong, I would have been lifted off the ground and sent flying. I felt the blood roll down from the side of my mouth as everyone started murmuring. Natsu stepped back, I never would have guessed this guy was so strong.**

**I laughed off the pain and spat out the blood that was building up in my mouth. This was actually going to be fun. "I've never felt someone hit like that before, this might be an interesting fight after all." I could hear some of the crowd whispering, "She stood her own against Natsu. Who is she?" For some reason, it made me feel cool to get so much attention. Natsu was just staring at me with his usual angry glare. "Well, what are you waiting for, its your turn to hit me."**

**I pulled back my fist and gathered as much wind power as I could into it. When I was satisfied, my fist looked like there was a tornado raging around it, and I lunged at Natsu, punching him on his jaw the same way he punched me. It was a satisfying feeling to punch Natsu with my own fist, but somehow, he stood his ground. Never once did anyone ever stand their ground after receiving a blow from my fist. I stepped back, angry with this persistent pest. Some blood rolled down the side of his mouth.**

"**That didn't hurt one bit!" he proclaimed breathing fire into the air and stomping about like a raging idiot. He wiped the blood from the side of his mouth and he smiled wickedly. In a flash, a hard rain poured from the sky. I was so busy concentrating on Natsu that I didn't realize when the dark clouds rolled in. **

**The blonde girl from the other day pushed through the crowd and grabbed Natsu's arm and tried to pull him away, but he didn't budge. She started to scream at him.**

"**Natsu, stop it. Makarov is going to have your head if you destroy anything. Plus it's raining, even if you could use your flames, they'd be weak by the time they hit her. Now come inside." **

**I snickered a bit trying to hold in the laughter. I knew I should be leaving too, but this was way too funny.**

"**Eh, but Lucy, she came to pick a fight with me first."**

"**Don't start with me, I didn't ask you that!"**

**That's it I couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed my heart out. "You better listen to your girlfriend before you get in trouble!" I mocked. He pushed away from Lucy and punched me in my gut. His punches were surprisingly strong, even without the flames. Strong or not, he wasn't getting away with it, so I punched him in his gut too. Soon we fought, hit for hit, none of us using magic. When he hit me, I hit him back in the same spot. **

**We fought for almost five minutes. I knew Tanzeru was watching, I could feel his disapproving eyes pierce me from behind, but I was too busy fighting Natsu to care. Both our faces were covered in blood. Suddenly, a feeling overcame me so I pushed Natsu back and jumped in the opposite direction. In a flash, lightning struck the spot we were standing in and my heart jumped. We both ended up falling to the floor, but Natsu got back up in a second while me on the other hand stayed down. I crouched in an almost fetal position with my hands on my head and my teeth were uncontrollably chattering. I didn't want anyway to see me in this pitiful condition, but I can't help it when lightning strikes. **

"**Ha, for someone with such big talk, its really pathetic that you're afraid of lightning!" Natsu's taunting words hurt more than his punches since this was probably the one thing I was shamed of. Tanzeru ran to the middle of the circle the crowd was making around Natsu and I and grabbed my shoulder. He yelled at Natsu, "If you want to fight someone, fight me." Before he had time to move, Natsu punched him right in his stomach and sent him flying. Tanzeru was much weaker than me physically. **

**When I saw Natsu punch him, MY little brother, I felt my anger overwhelm me, and forced my fears away. I stood to my feet to notice Natsu smile at me, the same arrogant smile from before, but now it didn't phase me. It was impossible to get me angrier than I already was, it felt like a beast was controlling me. **

"**You're little friend was weaker than you are. That's what you get when you challenge Natsu Dragneel." **

**I grabbed him by his scarf with my right arm and stretched my left arm to the sky at an angle. I snarled with anger in my voice, "DIE! NATSU DRAGNEEL!" I forced lightning out of the sky and directed it using my own body as a lightning rod. A large bolt of lightning completely engulfed us. Unlike most lightning that lasts for less than a second, this was completely different. I was sucking down every bit of lightning nearby like a vacuum. I was getting hurt too, but at least I get to take this bastard down with me. I wouldn't die from this blast, but there's a possibility he will.**

**The lightning lasted about 10 seconds before it scattered away and there was nothing left of it. Natsu already lost consciousness and I could feel everyone's eyes on me, but that was all I could feel. Without warning I fell to my knees unable to move. My eyes started to close, and just before I blacked out I heard Tanzeru calling my name. I wish I had the energy to apologize to him for getting him so worried, but I lost consciousness. **

**And here ends another exciting chapter. Now we know that Karina has not one, but two different types of magic. How often do you see that! What's even weirder is that she's afraid of lightning, even though its her magic. How is Fairy Tail going to react to this double magic user? Find out in the next exciting chapter, Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnn! **


	4. The Newest Member

**Chapter 3**

This was like a dream come true. I was just sleeping on a cloud and my body was light. Everything was just so relaxing, its like the burdens of life just melted away. I heard a deep, echoing voice. "Are you awake yet, Karina?" It was my father's voice. He emerged from the clouds, with his usual go-lucky smile and his brown hair was still unruly. He was wearing the same clothes he wore the day he… 'died'. He still looked as young as he always did. I got up and asked him, "Father, is this… heaven?" He just stood there smiling without a word. I walked closer to him but when I got in front of him, I fell through the clouds. I called to him for help, but he simply said, "This is the penalty for using magic. Accept it, Karina." Tears rolled from my eyes as I yelled to my father and reached out to him for help, but he just watched me fall. I blacked out when I finally hit the ground. It was hot, my body felt like it was on fire. I was conscious, but I couldn't open my eyes no matter how hard I tried. I heard someone laughing. "Who's there? This isn't funny." The person just laughed more and said, "Open your eyes." I was able to pry my eyes opens, but was unable to move. The person that was laughing, that's still laughing at me. It's Tanzeru. "Tanzeru?" I couldn't believe it. "I want you to feel the pain I felt, … that day." He laughed maniacally. Lightning struck me from above, I could feel it in the deepest marrow of my bone, and all I could hear was him laughing at me and mocking me. "Get up, Karina! Eh, Big sis, can't ya do it! Get up! Get up!"

I felt a tug on my shirt and I suddenly jumped up. Somehow I ended up in an infirmary of some sort. Natsu was gripping my collar and his fists were on fire.

"Geez, how can _I_ sleep, if you keep screaming in _your_ sleep…" he snarled.

"I was sleeping… huh. Guess that explains a lot." I whispered to myself.

"Eh, What did you just say!" he said pushing his forehead into mine.

"Get out of my face dragon-breath! The flames on your fists are giving me nightmares and making me sweat, idiot!"

A short, old man with a funny hat walked into the room just when I was ready to punch Natsu's lights out. "How was your sleep? That was pretty dangerous what you did before." His voice was raspy but calming. He sounded like a no nonsense, but loveable grandfather. He glanced over at Natsu with an intimidating glare and Natsu let go of my collar.

I had a couple of bandages on my face and my stomach was wrapped up, probably because of Natsu's punch, so the lightning didn't have much of an effect on me. The only reason I blacked out was because I came back to my senses during the last second and my fear consumed me. Natsu's arm was in a cast and arm sling, his torso was wrapped in bandages, and there were smaller bandages all over his face, but it was amazing that he even survived that lightning strike. As expected of a dragon-slayer.

The man turned away and said "Follow me, both of you." He sounded a bit scary, I was afraid I might get in trouble for fighting Natsu or something. Scared or not, I still followed since Natsu didn't even hesitate and I didn't want to seem weak. We walked into a room full of chaos, that resembled a bar room. Everyone was fighting, or talking, or drinking, but when we walked in, everyone went silent and stopped what they were doing. We became the center of attention as everyone there started staring at us. The short old man jumped on the bar table and sat down.

"Attention Fairy Tail! Listen up!" he yelled. It was awkward to be surrounded by so many people you don't know after trying to kill their friend. Tanzeru pushed through the large crowd of people and made his way to the front. "Tanzeru!" I couldn't help but feel happy to see Tanzeru since he was the only person I knew in the crowd. He knocked me in my head and said, "Idiot. Don't do anything crazy like that again!" Everyone started murmuring again. A girl with white hair and a red silky dress walked to the front. She smiled at me and then turned towards the crowd.

"Settle down everyone. Master Makarov has an exciting announcement to make."

"Wait a minute, 'master'? Could Fairy Tail possibly be a guild?" I never would have guessed just looking at them.

"That's right! We're very famous for having the ability to destroy entire towns, docks, and other things within an hour!" It was amazing how she could say something like that with a straight face.

"I don't think that would be fame, but then again that does explain why Natsu destroyed the shop-house we were living in for the time being." I thought I should bring up the reason I fought Natsu in a subtle way.

Master Makarov jumped up and screamed, "What! Natsu destroyed something else! We don't have the money to fix anything else, all the reward money went towards fixing that town they destroyed!"

Natsu grunted and argued, "The place looked abandoned, how was I suppose to know anyone was living there."

The girl with the white hair interrupted and said, "Master, what about your announcement?"

"You're right Mirajane. This matter can wait."

"You're just avoiding having to pay us…" he interrupted me by clearing his throat.

"We have a new addition to the Fairy Tail family. Everyone I would like to re-introduce you to Tanzeru Van Kreizer."

Tanzeru took a bow. I was struck speechless from shock. Tanzeru did this without me telling first, he never did something like that before. While everyone was cheering and applauding, he just stared into space. He turned towards me and said, "I told them how we ended up in Magnolia and Lucy offered to let us stay with her for a while as long as we help pay rent." Master Makarov asked, "Are you sure that it will be okay, Lucy?" Lucy emerged from the crowd and said, "Don't worry, at least now, it will probably be easier to afford rent and I probably won't be late."

Tanzeru said "Now that you're up, you can join too. We can find jobs easier now."

"No thank you. If you want to stay here, that's your own decision, but I'm not staying." Everyone stared at me. The crowd had a mix of expressions but I didn't care. As I was about to walk out the door, I crashed into someone and was knocked to the floor. The person had on a hard armor and they extended their arm to me and said, "I'm sorry…" they paused for a few seconds and then continued. "Is, that you… Karina?" I looked up and I couldn't believe my eyes. "You couldn't be. Is that you… Erza!"

**It seems like our friend Karina refuses to join Fairy Tail with her brother. I wonder why. It also seems like Karina and Erza know each other somehow. Who knows what's gonna happen next! Well, actually I know what's gonna happen next, but you don't and I can't tell you yet. But you can guess. Please send reviews or else I will think no one cares about this story and I'll stop here. Please, think of the children.**


	5. An Old Friend

**Chapter 4**

"Is that you… Karina?"

"You couldn't be. I don't believe it… Erza!"

I never thought that I would meet someone from my past in a place like this. She looked so different since the last time we met. Her scarlet hair had grown down to her back and she had a cool appearance. Much different than the crybaby I remember her to be. She had the posture of a heroine. I couldn't help but smile to see my old friend had grown so much. I'm sure she was just as surprised as I was to run into each other in a place like this.

Master Makarov jumped off of the table. He and Mirajane walked through the crowd and walked up to us. He looked over me and then looked up at Erza and questioned sternly, "You two know each other? How?"

I looked at Mirajane with disapproving eyes but she just smiled, her hands closed together, "I'm actually very curious myself."

I sighed and looked over at Erza. She smiled back at me, she could see I didn't want her to tell the story. So she said, "It would be best if I didn't talk about it."

Tanzeru pushed through the crowd and questioned, "How could you know someone that I don't? We've been traveling together all the time, and we grew up in the mountains, nowhere near anyone else."

Nervously I introduced my confused little brother to Erza.

"Erza, this is… my… little brother… Tanzeru Van Kreizer."

"Van Kreizer?"

"Yea, that's my last name,… Van Kreizer." I had hoped she wouldn't ask for an explanation.

"Ah, I see. Well then, you should know that my name is Erza _Scarlet_ now. By the way, what brings you to Fairy Tail?"

Master Makarov cleared his throat to interrupt. He looked up at Erza and said, "Tanzeru here has just joined Fairy Tail. Mirajane was just about to stamp the guild logo on him before you walked in."

She looked back over at me and asked, "Is that so? Does that mean that you are joining as well?"

"No thanks. Sorry to disappoint, I don't plan on joining, but since you ask, does that mean that you are a member of Fairy Tail?" I could hear my own tone of voice get serious. I never would have guessed that Erza would be a member of this pack of idiots.

Erza must have recognized my change in tone as her expression got serious as well. I think I may have upset her. "It is a matter of decision, but I thought you wouldn't have minded joining, even if only to support your _little brother_."

Tension grew between Erza and I, which was quickly broken by Mirajane. She came between us and suggested, "Why don't you take Tanzeru and Karina on a job? Maybe Karina would consider joining after doing a job with some members of Fairy Tail, and who better than someone she actually knows. I'm sure Gray, Lucy, and Natsu won't mind."

At the mere mention of Natsu's name I felt myself flinch a bit. "I would never share a job with that bastard Natsu." I grumbled.

Natsu charged towards us and pushed his forehead into mine. "Who do you think you're talking about? I would never want to go on a job with someone like you." He snarled.

"What did I tell you about getting in my face dragon-breath! Do you want me to kill you!"

Erza, with a puzzled look on her face, said "I didn't realize that you two have already met."

Angry, I charged out of Fairy Tail. I had to blow off some steam before I exploded in there. I ran through Magnolia. So many thoughts were running through my head, I was confusing myself. I climbed to the top of the tallest shop in town and sat on the roof. I could feel the cool breeze blow through my dark brown hair and the earring that dangled from my right ear swayed along with it. It was the same earring that Erza wore in hers.

I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Erza taking a seat next to me. At first we sat there silent for a moment. I just kept staring at her out the corner of my eyes. I still couldn't believe that this was the same Erza from back then. No, actually it wasn't the same Erza, she seemed almost completely different from the old Erza. She's changed.

She turned towards me, her auburn eyes looked comforting, and said, "You've also changed a lot since we last met." ending with a smile.

"_Crap, she read my mind._" I thought to myself. "Oh really, I didn't realize. Like how?"

She stared towards the sky and joked, "You're darker than you used to be, I don't remember your skin being that shade of brown."

I laughed a bit and responded, "That's what happens when you spend most of your life traveling all over the place on foot and sleeping outside. At least my eyes are still yellow." By this time, we were both giggling.

Suddenly Erza's eyes turned deep, almost sympathetic, as she said, "I thought you died back then. When that boat exploded while you were leaving, I thought that was it. I never expected to see you in Magnolia."

Thinking back to that day, I said "To be honest, I thought I was going to die too. When those flames engulfed the boat, I thought to myself '_my life is over_', but that's when one of the mages grabbed me. They held on to me and shielded me from the explosion. I ended up floating in the water for days until a lady fished me up."

"That lady was Tanzeru's mother?"

I could feel myself smile a little thinking about that moment. "She was so nice to me. Welcomed me into the family when Tanzeru was just three. He doesn't even remember the day I became his sister. He thinks that we have been together since the day he was born, so I never bothered to correct him."

"And that's why you didn't want me to tell Master Makarov how we knew each other, am I correct? You were afraid Tanzeru would hear."

"You can tell your guild master if you want, I just don't want Tanzeru to hear it from a total stranger."

"Then explain why you refuse to join Fairy Tail." she teased.

"Fine, since you're the one who asked me, I'll think about it. However, I think I'll make my decision after we go on that job."

Erza stood up and jumped down from atop the building and called out, "Are you coming or what, they're all waiting for you back at the guild." I jumped down, cushioning my landing with wind. She turned a little and smirked, "So you're a wind mage."

I turned my head, so she couldn't see my lying eyes as I responded, "Yea, I'm still learning how to control it." ending with a short nervous laugh.

"I know that you're lying. You're eyes still shimmer a bit whenever you lie."

_Damn, even Tanzeru hasn't realized that yet, but she still remembers my tell._ Hopefully she won't read my thoughts again. I sighed and truthfully answered, "My original magic is lightning magic, but I developed a fear of lightning, so I learned wind magic. I can only use my wind magic during clear weather, so if its raining or something I usually just fight fist to fist. I can use lightning magic anytime, I'm just too afraid to. When I used it on Natsu, it was my first time using it in five years."

She started to laugh at me, adding to the embarrassment I already felt for saying it. We walked over to Fairy Tail and was greeted by the entire guild. Tanzeru already had the Fairy Tail mark stamped on his chest in blue. I ended up drinking and talking to everyone and realizing that everyone in Fairy Tail was pretty cool.

Evening came quickly. Tanzeru and I spent the night sleeping in Lucy's house. We had to sleep on the floor, but it was pretty comfortable. For the first time in months, I was able to soundly sleep. I was actually looking forward to going back to Fairy Tail in the morning.

**Sorry I may have taken a bit longer than I usually do with this. Or at least, I'm not sure, I lost track of time cleaning up all that inspiration that was gushing all over the floor. This chapter seemed longer than it really was on my processor. I also started a new story, but it's a Strawberry Panic fanfic. Anyway plz R&R whether you enjoyed it or not. It can really help a lot. To those of you who reviewed. Thanks a lot I enjoyed reading them. By the way, notice that Karina is drinking beer at age 17, please do not try this at home. Anyway, right now it is 3:05 in the morning over here in the Bahamas and I'm sleepy. So good night my ppl!**


	6. Children of Lightning

**Author's Note:**_ I decided to change format a bit because I feel it looks neater like this. Anyway, this chapter is gonna reveal a whole lot of detail from Karina's past, but not all of it. You're gonna find out about her past with Erza in this part, so please excuse the length. It seems pretty long to me. _

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_**Chapter 5  
Children of Lightning**_

I woke up early for another day working on the slave drive known as the 'R-system'. I got pretty used to it since I was here since the day I was born, so that means it's been three years exactly counting today. I started working the day I could walk properly. I heard some of the guards talking about a new shipment of slaves that were being brought in, so I was kind of happy, but in a way, I felt kind of bad. I mean on the one hand, there might be a child with them and I'll finally have someone my own age to talk to. On the other hand, more people are going to end up suffering, being forced to 'work' in this hell hole.

First thing I did was check on my mother, like I did every other morning. She was sick and often too weak to work, so the guards would keep her locked in the cell. "Let her die pitifully like a worthless dog…" were their exact words. Despite that, she was always smiling, every time I came to see her. Even today, she was smiling and was as happy as always. I was allowed in her cell, so I sat next to her and said excitedly, "Mom, you remember what today is right!"

Her eyes were a deep sapphire blue. With her usual gentle voice, she replied "Of course. Happy third birthday."

"Yea! And do you remember what you promised?"

She covered her mouth and coughed slightly. I got a bit worried so I asked, "Are you alright?". With her hand still over her mouth, she laughed and said "Don't worry about it. Now, what did I promise you again?"

A bit dissatisfied with the response she gave me, I whined, "Eh, you don't remember? You promised me you'd tell me another story today, before I started working." On occasion, she would tell me stories of a time when she was a mage. They would go out on 'jobs' and work with 'friends'. It would make me dream of how a place outside the R-system looked, using the way my mother described the outside world.

" I see. Well, this one is a fable my mother told me when I was little girl. Only, I was a bit older than you. It was called 'Children of Lightning'."

Puzzled, I repeated, "Children of Lightning"?

She nodded and continued,

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"_Long ago, before the dawn of magic, people would pray to the heavens for warriors who could protect them from the Earth's wrath. One day, five travelers decided to climb to the highest mountains and pray for the warriors to come down. Suddenly, a surprise storm hit. It was certain if the men stayed, they would die, but instead of leaving, they continued to pray for three days under the wrath of the storm. After the third day, the storm cleared and five dragons descended upon them. A flame dragon, an iron dragon, a sky dragon, a water dragon, and a lightning dragon. Each breathed their elemental breath over the men, sharing their power with each man and spoke. "You will become the warriors your people have wished for all these years. Go and protect them as warriors from the heavens. However, you are not allowed to have children for you will be given an eternity of youth." With that the dragons flew off and left the men. For 100 years they followed the dragon's rules, fearing they may return. After the century was over, they thought the dragons would never return, so they each went back to their hometowns and had children. Violently the dragons tore through the skies, each dragon looking for the owner of their power. They each angrily ripped apart the man whom owned their power. Then, in a language only the offspring of the men could understand, they declared a message to each child. The lightning dragon declared, "To the children of lightning, you will be cursed and tormented by your own element. You will be dragons trapped into the body of normal humans. You will be forced to hide your miserable and terrified interior under a false strength and impulsive mindset. That will be the cause of your destruction and lightning will dance on the day of your death. Speak this into the ears of your children and none other. If you attempt to break this rule, you will be struck from lightning before you speak and burned into something that is neither ash nor dust." and at the end of each message, the respective dragon flew away into the heavens. And that is the story of 'The Children of Lightning'_.

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I thought about the story for a while and then asked, "Hey mom. If only the children of the lightning and their children could hear the message, how come you know and you could tell me?"

She looked at me with sympathetic eyes and rested her hand on my head. She spoke softly. "Because you are a descendant of the lightning, my child. Karina, please remember this story so you can tell your children as well."

"What about my little brother, is he coming out soon? Are you gonna tell him, too?" My mother was pregnant, and I couldn't wait to get a younger sibling.

"I'll tell him if I can. But, how do you know its going to be a boy?"

With strong confidence, I stood to my feet and said "He told me he was going to be a boy. He talks to me in my dreams." My mother giggled a bit, I always loved to hear her laugh.

She told me, "I will be sure to tell your brother if I can. Just be sure to take care of your little brother, and protect him, okay Karina."

I kept thinking about the story '_Children of Lightning'_. It was probably something I'll understand later on in life, because at the moment, I was really confused. I couldn't imagine a kid like me being able to control nature or lightning or whatever, so it didn't make much sense to me. The guards yelled throughout the prison, "Eh, you worthless, lazy dogs, time to work!" I got up and left along with everyone else. I got shackled and went straight to work, leaving my mother in her cell.

While I was chipping away at the rock, a boat came into the harbor. Some of the guards returned with a cargo of slaves with them. Hiding behind the rocks, I watched from a distance as they guided the shackled slaves off the boat. I watched carefully until I saw a young girl with red hair walk frightfully off the boat. She was crying, the guards kept rushing her and scaring her. I couldn't just stand back and let them do that, so I threw rocks at them to distract them. When they turned to see where the rocks were coming from, I took the fall and came out of hiding. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to." Of course I had a devious smile on my face. One of the men screamed with spit flying from his mouth, "You again! I'll deal with you later." I was pretty popular among the guards for being so troublesome at such a young age, just like the story said, I acted on impulse. When the girl got off the boat, I followed her to see where the guards would put her to work. I was really happy to hear she would be working in the same area as me.

I rushed back to the work area before they realized I was gone. I was actually happily working, looking forward to another kid working alongside me. When she finally came, she looked confused and nervous. So I introduced myself. "Yo, my name is Karina. Just Karina. I just turned three today. Nice to meet you." I gave her a big, mischievous smile.

She looked around and stuttered, "My… name… my name is… Erza. I'm three…as well."

I was a bit upset that she felt uncomfortable around me. I couldn't help myself, so I thumped her in the head, but I didn't do it to hurt her. Surprisingly, I saw little pearl-like tears build up in her eyes as she started to sniffle. I knew it was wrong, but she looked so cute that day when she cried, and most people around here don't cry anymore, so a tear was a rare sight. Ever since, I constantly would do things to make her cry, from poking her in the head with a stick, to throwing rocks at her, to scaring her at night. Unfortunately thanks to my constant teasing, she started to fear me and would keep her distance. It felt bad knowing that I scared away the only possible friend I could have made. So I started to stay quiet around her and leave her alone.

About three weeks after giving up on teasing Erza, she got into some problems. The pickaxe she was using to chip the rocks slipped out her hand and hit one of the guards in the back of his head. Before the guard turned around, I quickly handed Erza my pickaxe. He turned around and noticed I didn't have a pickaxe in my hand, which was exactly what I was hoping for. So he grabbed my hand and dragged me away. I found it funny to look at Erza's puzzled face as I waved goodbye with a smile on my face. I was carried off to the torture room for two days before I returned back to work. My torso was covered in open wounds, but I still worked normally like nothing had happened, but Erza seemed to work closer to me now. After a while of staring at me, Erza asked "Why did you get in trouble for me?"

"Hmm, probably… I'd have to say, because I didn't want anyone else to make you cry. I'm pretty selfish about these things."

"But, you got hurt. They took you to the torture room."

I couldn't help but smile to know that Erza didn't completely hate me. "If you want to make it up to me, how about letting me call you Eru-chan? In exchange, I'll protect you like a big sister should, okay."

Again, she wore a puzzled expression on her face, before changing to a big smile. It was the first time I'd seen her smile. She said excitedly, "Okay, thank you!"

About two years after was the day my brother was born. I brought Erza with me to see my baby brother, but a strange ship landed. I heard that merchants would often come to trade goods for slaves or sometimes even buy the slaves, but this is the first time its happened since I was here. We were all taken to a line up, one of the guards was holding my baby brother. The merchant was a large and muscular man, and he looked each slave over one by one. When he reached Erza and I, he stopped. He yelled to the guards and told them to come. I was scared he was going to take us. "I want that baby over there, that way he'll never question me since he won't remember this and I could put him to some serious work. Also, I want this one with the red hair one. She looks like she'll grow up to be a good sale." When a merchant said he was going to sell someone, he often means prostitution.

He grabbed Erza's shoulder while one of the guards carried my baby brother into the boat. She struggled, but I knew Erza couldn't stand up against him, so I ran up to him and kicked him in his manhood. He fell to his knee as I shielded Erza. Trying to play the hero, I said with great pride "Don't worry Eru-chan. I promised I would protect you like a big sister should."

The merchant laughed as he got up and the guards surrounded me with their shock-pole weapons. They all electrocuted me, I've never felt a pain so severe. I couldn't even stand to my feet anymore. The guards backed away and one of them said, "We apologize. She's a very stubborn one, we'll be sure to punish her in a way that even a worthless dog doesn't deserve."

The merchant lifted me by my shoulder and said, "No, I think I'll take her instead of the red head. I like the hard cases, it makes 'em more fun to crack open." I managed to wiggle my way out of his grip and force myself to stand on my feet. However, I finally realized that if I left, I wouldn't cause anymore trouble for Erza, plus I'll be able to take care of my baby brother like I promised my mother. I walked on the ship without a struggle and the merchant set sail.

After we reached about five hundred meters from land I ran to the edge of the boat to wave my finally good-bye to Eru-chan, but while I was waving, the merchant's boat was raided by a group of mages. In an act of defense the merchant blew the boat up with a bomb. The huge explosions were engulfing everyone and the boat as well. In a flash, lightning struck and I remembered the story my mother told me. Lightning would strike when a child of lightning died, which could only mean that my baby brother was killed in the explosion. I ran to find him, I couldn't believe he was dead, but a mage stopped me and shielded me during the final explosion that wiped just about everything out. But, I survived the explosion, however I was badly injured. I just allowed the water to let me drift away, since I was in too much pain to move.

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**Author's note:**_ So this chapter was completely dedicated to Karina's past with Erza, however, this is not where her eventful past ends, this was only the first five years. By the way, this was suppose to take place before all of Gerard and Wally those came. But don't worry the rest of her life wasn't as eventful as this, so the story of her past should probably end during the Mid-chapter. I'd like to here your opinions so please review. Like I said, excuse the length, it looks pretty long to me. _


	7. The Curse Called Lightning

**Author's Note:**_ Thanks for the awesome reviews. I really appreciated it and it pumped me up to write the next chapter. However, I had a manga to draw so it took me a while to finish both this and the manga, but I did it and here it is. Well, actually I decided to use the manga as my excuse to be lazy, so…yea. This is a continuation of 'Children of Lightning' to finish off the last bit of her eventful past and you're going to find out why she's afraid of lightning. I thought I would have been able to cap off her past around the middle of this chapter, but it ended up being longer than I thought,… so… yea. Enjoy, R&R!_

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**Chapter 6  
**_**The Curse Called Lightning**_

By the time my eyes opened the night had already fallen. I had no idea of the time, I just felt myself drifting over the calm waters. It could have already been days since that merchant's boat blew up, but for some reason I'm still alive, so it couldn't have been too long. The only thing I could do was lay back, floating, and look up at the open, night sky and the glowing crescent moon to think, hoping that everything would just get better. I kept trying, but the more I tried to forget what happened, the more tears seemed to roll down my cheeks. The brother whom I barely knew for a day, whom I anxiously waited for months for him to arrive, was killed on that boat. I would watch the sun rise for the morning and seagulls would fly just above my head, screeching as if they were mocking me. I watched the sun go down and the moon rise for his nightly shift as those same gulls flew home, leaving worthless me behind, with no way of returning home. This same routine repeated itself three times, for three days and three nights. My body was numb from being pinched all over by small fish and pecked continuously by tormenting birds. My vision was blurred as my body was weak from starvation. I barely ate as a slave, so I knew it wouldn't take long without food for me to reach a breaking point. I was near starvation at the R-System, near death even, from being whipped and being thrown into the torture room but I would still rather go back than have to put up with this suffering any longer.

As I floated closer to land, I felt something press against my back. Out the corner of my eye, I could see rope, the type typically used in fishing net. Although my body was numb, I still felt myself being tugged out of the water along with a few large fish. As I drew closer to shore, I felt myself slowly losing consciousness. When I finally hit the shoreline, I closed my eyes and let myself fall unconscious. I'm not sure if it was a reaction to the sudden change in pace and environment, or if my body was attempting to shut down. In either case, I was happy, even if I couldn't express it on my face, inside my mind I rejoiced before blacking out completely. My body could rest assuredly and at ease in these serene surroundings. _I could die in peace here_, I thought and so I let my body go.

Surprisingly, I didn't die. My eyes peeked open as my nose caught the aroma of something cooking. I only smelt aromas this good when the guards back at the R-System were eating their feasts while we ate whatever leftover scraps were thrown aside the day before. My body quickly sat up on its own, if only to intoxicate itself and make believe my belly was being filled. Even though I was sitting up, my body was still sore and it was painful to move, but it was even more painful to die of starvation while savoring this divine scent of food. I forced myself to crawl on all fours in order to locate the food, in high hopes that I could get even a tiny morsel. The faster I moved the quicker I would get there, so I moved as swiftly as I could, ignoring the jabbing pain from my salt covered wounds.

What I stumbled upon was an open fire with a stand above it that held a large iron pot. I went closer to see a stew of some sort cooking with fish, possibly the ones that got dragged in with me. There was no one around and some bowls stacked on the ground with some spoons in them, so I helped myself to the stew, hopefully I wouldn't get caught. I overflowed my bowl with stew making sure to get some fish, too and I immediately starting to chow down. As I ate, I looked around myself. I wasn't on the beach anymore, it was more like the middle of a forest, surrounded by tall trees. It was night, so it was hard to see, and behind the trees just looked like one big shadow. I finished my stew, licking away whatever stray drips found their way out and thought to myself, _I don't think I've ever eaten this much! I'm so happy_! I was definitely overjoyed with the way things were changing for me, I even felt a smile curl itself on my face.

Suddenly I heard a rustling in the bushes. A lot of possible things it could be raced through my head, but no matter what it was I was prepared. Something small and brown, with unruly and fuzzy hair peeked through the bushes, so I thought it was either a big monkey, or a small bear. Slowly it emerged, or should I say he. A tall man who stood about six foot nine came out of the bushes. The small, brown, unruly fur was his hair. He was smiling for no apparent reason and just stood there. He seemed young, around the age of twenty four, maybe.

"So, this is the girl she was talking about." he said.

"Who are you?"

"Eh, its mean to ask that after you ate some of my food without even asking. I should be the one asking you that."

Again, I heard another rustling in the bushes, but this time it was a woman holding hands with a little boy, probably her son. He had short white hair and so did she. Their eyes were the same misty blue as well. There was no mistaking they were related. Looking at him reminded me of what happened to my little brother and sadness overwhelmed me, but I still tried to force the tears back that were building up in my eyes. I always tried to look strong in front of others, and even though I don't know these people, I can't let them see me cry.

The boy tugged on his mother's sleeve, pointed at me, and whiningly asked, "Mama, mama, who is that?"

She looked at me and smiled. Then, she looked back at her confused, young son and said, "Tanzeru, go with your father to get some water, please." The little boy ran to the man with bed-head, wearing a big smile on his face and they disappeared heading towards the mountains further up. Now, it was down to just me and the lady.

With her head tilted, she placed her hand on her chin and jokingly said, "I never expected to catch a little girl in my net. I was so surprised when I saw you literally '_sleeping with the fishes'."_ ending with a slight giggle.

I felt myself relax a bit. I thought I was about to be in some trouble or something, but she seemed nice. Embarrassed, I responded, "Thank you for saving me, a little bit longer and I might have been done for." I scratched the back of my head and glanced up at the stars, thinking about what I would do from now on.

She giggled again, this time concealing it behind the hand that crept its way up from the chin to cover her mouth. I never saw someone seem so happy before, (probably because of where I grew up), so it seemed sort of weird to see someone laugh so much. But, somehow, she reminded me of my mother every time she smiled.

She smiled and said, "Sorry, but, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions?" Curiously, I nodded, surprised that she was getting more and more excited with every passing second.

"Where exactly… is your family?" she asked innocently, unaware of how much pain I felt when she said it.

Attempting to stay strong, I felt my body begin to tremble and I was stuttering. "Wha… What exactly… do you mean by… _'family'?_"

"You know! A family. Like a mom, or dad, or sister, or brother!"

Trying to think of how I could answer her, my stuttering became more severe. "That's right. Uh,… uhmm… my fa… family. Bloodwise, I only have… a mother, since my… little bro… little brother… is dead. I never knew my dad,… 'cuz he died a few months after I was born. My mom… is a slave, in a place pretty far from here. It took me days to drift here." I put on a faux smile in an attempt to trick her into thinking I didn't mind talking about it, but I could see she wasn't fooled. Her face turned serious and her smile was gone.

"Then what is your name?"

"It's Karina. I'm five."

"Karina what, don't you have a last name?"

I nodded to say no. "My mother just said that I was a _'Child of Lightning'_ and told me a story. None of the slaves who grew up there knew their last names."

I noticed the woman flinch a bit after I mentioned being a child of lightning. She seemed really serious now, it was almost scary. She murmured something under her breath. I couldn't quite make out what she was saying, but it seemed like she was arguing with herself. It seemed like she finally came to a decision with herself as she walked towards me. She put her hands on my shoulders and kneeled down to look me in the eye. Her serious expression, suddenly changed into a happy one as she smiled at me and asked, "You said that you're little brother had passed away, right. How would you like to have my son as a little brother? Tanzeru has always wanted an older sibling. I'm not trying to replace your little brother or anything like that, but it could help you fill the void and also make Tanzeru's dream come true."

I could even feel the puzzled look on my face, trying to piece together what was going on. "You're asking me… _what_?"

"I'm asking you to become a member of our small family. To become Karina _Van Kreizer_. Please don't refuse. We'll raise you as our own!"

Still a bit confused, I agreed to her offer. She jumped up and started cheering like an energetic child who was finally allowed to get something they wanted. It was awkward, but funny so I laughed. That was exactly how my mother acted before she became ill. It was impossible for anyone around her, whether guard or slave, to be sad while she was in their presence.

After the guys came back, they sat down and ate. They talked and laughed together like a family should, it was what I had always wished for. After everyone was full and cleanup was done, we headed for the mountains, which is where the family's home was located. It was no wonder Tanzeru wanted an older sibling, living in the mountains, there was no one he could play with. It reminded of how I would wait for a kid my age to play with, before Eru-chan came along. I could understand his lonely feeling.

While we were walking, it felt a bit awkward. I could feel Tanzeru staring at me the whole time through, and every time I looked back at him he would just smile at me. It was beginning to be creepy. When we reached to the front of a large wooden house, the boy tugged on my shirt and said, "Hey, when are you going back home, mountain girl."

I thought to myself, _Did he just call me a mountain girl_? But, what could I expect, I just wore a shirt and shorts, and even those were torn, ripped, and stained. I wore the same thing for as long as I could remember.

"Tanzeru, that's no way to talk to your big sister." his father said in a playful tone.

It felt weird being called a big sister since the only person who ever called me that was Erza, and even that was only on occasion. But seeing the boy smile actually made me feel happy, too.

…

About two uneventful years went by and it was Tanzeru's fifth birthday. We had traveled to Harujion Town. It was the only place my dad would take us since it had the least amount of mages and magical merchandise. There was one rule in that house that always stood stern to my father, and that was rule number 1, _No magic or anything that has to do with it_. For some reason, he hated mages, even though my mother used to be one. She had to quit her guild after they got married and she never used magic again, she retired as a mage. I couldn't tell him that I was secretly practicing my newly found lightning magic, and Tanzeru knew too, since he would watch each of my practices. It was a secret between us. We rented an inn to stay in until we went back home after the vacation week. After Tanzeru's birthday party, mom and dad went out and left Tanzeru and I back at the inn.

"Show me your lightning magic again!"

"No way, I'm not risking it here. You know dad would freak out."

"Come on, its my birthday! Please!"

After he constantly kept begging me, I decided to show him the magic. I extended my arm as lightning flowed down it, and using my second hand, I shaped it into a ball. I felt proud that I could control it so well, I knew my real mom would be proud as well. Tanzeru watched in astonishment, because it was the first time he saw me do it. I was practicing the trick for months ever since I discovered my lightning powers. This was the first time I actually got it right. Suddenly the door opened and I heard my father's voice yelling, "I thought I said no magic! What are you doing?"

He surprised me and I lost concentration. The lightning ball was destroyed, and stray bolts flew everywhere. Most of them hit the ground and were absorbed, but one hit Tanzeru and one hit my father. A few of them hit me, but I was used to getting shocked by now after all that practicing, so it didn't really affect me. My father fell to the ground gasping for air and Tanzeru's shoulder and upper arm revealed the path the lightning traveled down before exiting out his elbow, leaving a path of ripped flesh and blood behind it. I began to panic after my father stopped breathing and Tanzeru was bawling on the floor, holding the open gash wound on his arm. I couldn't stop the tears that were flowing down like a waterfall as I cried, shaking my father's lifeless body, hoping to revive it. My mother walked in and gasped, dropping her bag. She ran to lift up Tanzeru and sat by her husband's side. She yelled to the owner of the inn to call an ambulance immediately. They arrived within minutes and took my father and brother to the ambulance. My mother rode in the ambulance that my father left in, while I went with Tanzeru. Tanzeru was silent, he fainted from pain already. I sat in the corner, remembering the story mom told me, 'The Children of Lightning'. More accurately I remembered the first line of the lightning dragon's message, "_To the children of lightning, you will be cursed and tormented by your own element."_ I was slowly beginning to understand the message. I thought to myself, _What had just happened was unavoidable_, but no matter how much times I said that to myself, I still felt guilty throughout the whole trip to the hospital.

…

Three years passed since Tanzeru was released from the hospital and my father was pronounced _dead_. Both Tanzeru and my mother would try to convince me it wasn't my fault, but I knew that it was. We moved to Harujion Town since that day. We visited my father's grave every year, and I would apologize each time. As a matter of fact, we were just returning from visiting my father's grave. A thunder storm caught us and we were forced to rush through the rain, by the riverside. Tanzeru and I shared an umbrella and mom had her own. She kept yelling at Tanzeru and I to slow down and that's when it happened. Lightning flashed and struck right between my mother and I and she lost her footing. She slipped back and rolled into the river. The slope down was too far and we couldn't reach her, so she was swept away and swallowed by the river. Tanzeru was yelling and calling to mom, but she wouldn't come up. His tears seemed to flow endlessly, like the rain that harshly pelted us, but for some reason I couldn't cry. I wanted to, but it was like all my tears were gone and used up. I felt Tanzeru press up against my back, furiously wiping away tears and rain drops. He cried, "Karina! Mom's gone, she's not coming back up! We have to save her."

I clenched my teeth in disbelief of my own words as I said, "Don't worry everything will be just fine."

"Karina, how could you say that? If you won't go, then I will."

He moved back and was seriously about to dive into the river, so I held his shoulder. He whimpered in pain, so I pulled my hand back. I didn't realize it was the scar from when my lightning struck him. I told him in a stern voice, "If you go down there, what do you think would happen to you? I lost dad and just lost mom, I don't want to lose you, too! Especially not when I know I can avoid it. I promise, no, _I vow,_ I'll protect you with all my might. So don't go." It seemed I convinced him as he came and hugged me with his head held low, trying to hide his tears.

I may have sounded strong, but in truth I had no idea of what I was going to do. We couldn't stay at the inn anymore, we were on rent. So I decided to learn wind magic from a mage I met. I believe his name was _Erigor_, or something like that. He said he was from a guild, but I don't remember it's name. He taught me as much as he felt I could do and then left and told me to take on jobs, any job I could get as long as I didn't have to sacrifice my pride as a mage. Since the day I turned thirteen, Tanzeru and I traveled all over Fiore, living in various homes only to leave in the next few weeks. I took on jobs from random people and paid for food and rent. I refused to use my lightning magic anymore, in fact, every time I see lightning now, I remember all the pain it caused for me. It struck on the day the merchant's ship blew up and my brother died, my lightning magic killed my father, and lightning caused my mother to lose her footing and slip into the river to drown. Lightning… is nothing but a curse for me.

* * *

**Author's note:** _I didn't expect it to be this long, guess I got carried away with the details. Anyway after this, I'll definitely take off from where we last left off before I got into telling her past. Hope it didn't annoy any of you guys. See you soon!_


	8. Back To Clover!

**Author's Note:** _Now we start at where chapter 4 left off. Just in case you don't remember and don't feel like checking back, chapter 4 left off with Karina and Tanzeru sleeping over at Lucy's house after Karina finally realizes that not everyone in Fairy Tail is an idiot. To her, that only applies to Natsu. She went to sleep looking forward to going on a mission with Fairy Tail's strongest team, Erza, Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Lucy, and her brother Tanzeru, too._

* * *

**Chapter 7:  
**_**Back to Clover!**_

I finally woke up, but now the problem was that I didn't want to open my eyes and actually _get up_, so I just laid on the floor, trying my hardest to go back to sleep. However, a small little bug decided to tick me off by humming past my ear repeatedly. When it finally landed on my ear-lobe, I prepared my hand to annihilate the stupid mosquito. I swatted at it with all my might and that mosquito would have been crushed, that is, if it hadn't flown away and caused me to smack myself right in the face.

"SH-…SHALA!" _I don't swear around Tanzeru since I don't want him to pick up any of my bad habits, but damn did that hurt!_

When I looked around the room, no one was there, Tanzeru nor Lucy. At the moment, I didn't really think anything of it, so I just searched her fridge for anything to eat. I found a bowl with something soup-like in it, so I decided to eat it. It was the worst mistake I ever made. It was the worst piece of crap I ever tasted, even worse than the stuff they fed us as slaves! I sealed the bowl back shut and put it back in the fridge, though it better belonged in the garbage. I spat up and wiped off any trace of that… whatever that was. Suddenly it hit me, the reason Tanzeru and Lucy were gone.

* * *

**-Fairy Tail- (From narrator's point of view)**

Meanwhile, Lucy and Tanzeru were on their way to Fairy Tail, completely packed and ready for their job.

Lucy, with a finger on her chin, asked, "Oh yeah, did you remember to wake up Karina before we left?"

Tanzeru stopped. He forgot to wake her, it was written all over his face. He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. Lucy turned around with a '_I can't believe you forgot'_ expression on her face. Tanzeru sighed in self disappointment.

"Don't beat yourself up, I'm sure she'll be fine. She can't stay asleep that long."

"Actually, I've seen my sister spend two days, asleep in a tree. No food or water, never once opening her eyes. She probably would've slept even longer if I hadn't woken her up."

Lucy snapped, "She can't be human!"

* * *

**-Fairy Tail- (Back to Karina's point of view)**

I rushed around to finish. I had to change, eat, and pack. I looked in the fridge and noticed the bowl I put back earlier. On second thought, I think I'll skip breakfast. I grabbed my wind board, put on my gloves and ran out the door. I decided not to pack after all, since I prefer to let life surprise me.

The only way to catch up was the wind board. I bolted down the streets of Magnolia, I loved the rush I got when I rode it. In the distance, I could see the team standing in front of the guild, including Tanzeru and Lucy. That's when I remembered that I never learned how to stop my board, so I stopped it the only way I knew how. I pulled up the board. The board flipped into the air and so did I before plummeting face first into the ground, _again_. I got back up, pretty much ticked off with the way my day started.

"Geez, what the hell is that scent?" Natsu scorned.

I sniffed myself and immediately sighed. "I knew I forgot something. At the time, bathing wasn't on my mind."

"If you keep that up, you'll smell worse than Natsu." Gray commented.

"Her stink can only compare to yours, frostbite." Natsu grunted.

"Shut up! I'm getting tired of you two making references to my stink. So what if I forgot, at least it was an accident. You can't get the stink you guys have by accident!"

Within a second, we were butting heads. Natsu was grunting, Gray was growling, and I was snarling. That's when I felt like I was hit by a train in the back of my head. Erza knocked the three of us in our heads.

Happy flew above us and landed on Natsu's shoulder. He stood tall as he wisely proclaimed, "So is the fate of anyone who acts improperly in front of The Great Erza."

Erza, like a mighty team leader ordered, "Now's not the time for friends to argue, so cut it out."

Surprisingly enough, Gray and Natsu were shaking hands with their arms slung around each other's shoulders. "That's right. Natsu and I were just kidding, right best friend Natsu."

Natsu yelled, "Aye!"

I don't whether I was more confused or disgusted by the display. I got up and dust myself off and asked, "What's the job we're doing anyway?"

Lucy pulled the sheet of paper out of her bag and read, "It requests that we take out some demons that have been harassing a village just north of Clover Town."

I flinched a bit before asking, "Does that mean we're taking a train? To the Clover Station?"

"How else would we get there?" Gray asked arrogantly.

"I hear that they tightened the security around the station ever since some delinquents broke the emergency brakes and caught a free train ride." Erza added.

Natsu smirked as he said, "At least this time it isn't me who broke something and got in trouble. So we should get by no problem."

"Maybe so, but mistaken identity is quite common. Hopefully none of us will be mistaken as the _idiots_ who did that." Tanzeru pointed out. Then he looked at me with a scowl, while I whistled to play it off and act like I didn't notice him glaring.

We made our way to the Magnolia train station, fighting, arguing, and ultimately being punished by Erza and laughed at by Tanzeru, Lucy, and Happy.

Natsu and I got into an argument which led to him challenging me. So I said, "I beat you once, I'll beat you again. No problem!"

"You and I both fainted and that's only 'cuz I was caught by surprise!"

"Keep telling yourself that you have even the slightest chance of beating me! It's called _lying_."

I didn't even realize when we walked on the train. We were still arguing up to when the train actually pulled off. That's when we both fell back in the seats, sick to our stomachs.

"Wah, Karina get's motion sick, just like Natsu." Happy snickered.

I don't think I've ever felt like killing an animal as much as I did now. I would have hit him if I could move. Tanzeru came up to me and whispered, careful to make sure none of the others heard him. "What exactly are we going to do when we get there? Suppose they recognize us?"

"Not… ri-right… now." I couldn't focus long enough to remember my full name, I definitely wasn't in the right frame of mind to come up with a plan. I was just hoping that we got off the train soon, but the train ride was two long, horrible hours to endure. Still, it was worth it to see Natsu look so horribly vulnerable.

The train's wheels screeched as we pulled into Clover Station. I was able to endure the two hour train ride without puking. When the train came to a complete halt, I jumped up and stretched and so did Natsu. Honestly, I felt better around Natsu now that I knew that we shared the same motion illness. Of course, that changed after Natsu made a stupid comment like, "Man, I can't believe that you got so sick!"

I punched him in the gut and walked off the train with my hands in my pockets, the rest of the team was already out the train, except of course for Tanzeru, who pulled me back in the train. He was so anxious, he literally started sweating like crazy. "Don't worry Tanzeru, leave it to me. Follow my lead if anything happens, and if things go bad, pretend you don't know me and tell the team to walk. I'd just catch up to you after I deal with things." Tanzeru nodded and walked off of the train.

When I got off the train, I looked around and scoped out how many officials there were. There were nine council officers and one knight and they were stationed all around the train station.

Gray called out, "Hey, you coming or not."

All the officials turned their attentions to me and I was immediately recognized by the ticket holder, who just happened to be the same guy Tanzeru and I screwed over. "That's the one who stole the emergency brake!", he declared.

Since I already got caught, I could at least joke around. "Glad to see you still remember me!"

I signaled to Tanzeru to take the team and run. Gray with an annoyed look on his face, questioned, "What the hell is going on here?"

Tanzeru nudged them forward, claiming, "I'll explain on the way the way there. Don't worry, Karina said she'd catch up."

Hesitantly, they walked off, which was my cue to go crazy. Personally, I love a good challenge, so I was hoping that I would get a good work-out from these guys. The knight held up his lance and the council officers unsheathed their swords. They formed a circle around me, attempting to force me into surrendering. They probably didn't know I was a mage, otherwise they would have sent someone else, someone who could actually beat me.

"Give up now and we won't have to hurt you." the knight announced.

"Eh, to think I told them to go ahead just so we could spend as much time as we want here." I got into my fighting stance, "Come on, let's play."

I decided not to use my magic because if I did, the match would be way too one sided. At least this way, I'm leveling the bar just a little. The knight lifted his arm to signal for the officers to attack. They lunged at me almost simultaneously while the knight stood back, but they all seemed amateur at best when it came to fighting. It was easy to knock them all out, one punch each and they were all down for the count. I didn't even remove my left hand from my pocket. It was really disappointing and the knight seemed to scared to even fight.

I looked at the cowardly, whimpering knight and asked, " Tell me, is this what the council thinks of me? Sending a bunch of monkeys holding twigs to arrest me. Do I really seem like just another petty thief to them?"

I stepped closer. He clenched his lance tighter and fell to the ground begging , "I… I don't know. Just please… don't hurt me. We were told that… this would be an easy job."

I looked over and could still see the Fairy Tail gang and Tanzeru walking in the distance. So I told the knight, "Tell the council that I don't want to fight them, but if they are going to try to arrest me, at least don't underestimate me." The knight got to his feet and saluted, then scurried away whimpering, leaving the officers out cold on the ground.

I grabbed my wind board, but decided not to use it this time, to avoid having to fall flat on my face again. I caught up to the others and we continued up north towards the village mentioned in the job request.

While we were walking through town, we heard a commotion at one of the stores and thought that maybe one of the demons entered the town. We went in to check it out, but what we saw was something a bit more surprising.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys, I told ya we ain't gat no money! We'll pay ya for 'em later!" Gajeel sneered gripping the store clerk.

"Gajeel stop it, you're gonna hurt him." Wendy shrieked. She, along with Charle, was struggling to pull Gajeel's arm so he could drop his grip on the store clerk.

Gajeel, the iron hard destructive delinquent, along with Wendy, the innocent little kid. It was an interesting team, I have to admit, but before I could say anything, Natsu was already in Gajeel's face.

"What are you doing here metal breath!"

Gajeel grunted and dropped the store clerk, "Who do you think you're talking to, you idiot bastard?"

Lucy interrupted the two, "What exactly are you and Wendy doing here, Gajeel?"

Gajeel pull out a sheet of paper from his pocket. He unfolded it revealing a job request. "It asks for at least two dragon slayers, and this raging idiot over here was nowhere to be found, so I took the kid instead."

Lucy turned towards Wendy and asked, "You actually agreed to do a job with Gajeel. What did he do, threaten you?"

"Hmm, actually at first I didn't want to go, but then he said if I came, he'd buy me all the candy I want!"

"Sometime's I wonder if Wendy even thinks before she does anything." Charle muttered. "I'm not even sure if I should call it innocence."

That's when Tanzeru said, "I'm curious, but why would they ask specifically for dragon slayers and even request for two of them."

Gajeel responded, "They say that there are about five young dragons flying around a village somewhere north of here, so the girl and I came to check things out."

Lucy asked, "Who sent the request?"

"Some guy, calls himself The Doc."

"Hey, our request says that too.", Erza pointed out.

I grabbed the requests from Erza and Gajeel and compared them. "The handwriting's the same." Then I began to wonder, so I asked Tanzeru, "Hey you don't think that it's gramps do ya?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** _I was thinking about changing the point of view from Karina's to narrator's point of view. Tell me what you think, I wanna know before I make any changes. Trust me, this story is coming to a climax soon and I've planned something awesome!_


	9. Family Dispute, The Siblings Seperate

**Author's Note:** _Yay! I'm back from my unannounced Hiatus, sorry I took so long but I just couldn't remember what I wanted to write, so I decided to get away from it for a while. It took longer than I had planned but thankfully, it did eventually come back, so here it is, Chapter 8. By the way, I decided to keep it at Karina's point of view._

* * *

_**Chapter 8:  
**__**Family Dispute - The Siblings Separate**_

"The handwriting's the same. Tanzeru, you don't think it's from gramps do ya?"

"It could be, possibly." Tanzeru replied, hand on chin thoughtfully.

Gajeel grunted a bit, and growled, "Mind telling us exactly who this doc guy or gramps guy really is?"

Erza added, "I too am curious about this man, and why would he go through the trouble of sending two different requests. He could've easily cancelled the one before, which ever request came first. It definitely would have saved him some money."

Charle nodded in agreement and mentioned, "It is rather strange, maybe the threat we're facing is more dangerous than we're anticipating."

Wendy mumbled something, but it was hard to understand since she was strangely chewing on a giant lollipop, nibbling at the top since it was too big to fit in her mouth. Natsu yelled in excitement, "Ah, where did you get that damn big lollipop, I want one too!"

Ignoring Natsu, Gajeel interpreted, "_Maybe he just forgot to cancel_, so she says."

Lucy, hands on hips, mocked, "Nobody would forget something this important."

In a slightly annoyed tone, I noted, "If this is the guy Tanzeru and I are thinking about, I wouldn't put it past him to forget."

The group looked at us with slightly curious looks in their eyes, so Tanzeru explained, "His name is Doctor Helios, though around there, they call him Dr. Scatter brain or the doc for short. We met him around the time we first started traveling. He took us in for a while and let us help him out for money. As his nickname suggests, he is often confused and forgets things easily, however, he takes on a totally different persona when he is working. He's usually very laid-back and slack, but when a life is on the line, he becomes the most serious person ever. He can't use magic, but he knows a lot about it. Also, besides being a doctor, he is the village chief."

"This guy seems like one heck of a crazy character." Gray commented. Honestly, I had no choice but to agree with Gray.

We proceeded through town, gathering a lot of attention in our wake, but what else is to expect. Fairy Tail was a very well known guild, and admittedly, I guess it was somewhat intimidating to see such a large group of powerful, and/or destructive mages.

I may have stayed silent, but listening and observing this odd group was refreshing. Charle scolded Wendy for eating the entire lollipop so quickly, complaining about cavities and other such, she sounded like a mom. Happy tried talking to her, but then she yelled at Happy. Then there was Gajeel, Natsu, and Gray who were merrily arguing and bad-mouthing each other, randomly throwing punches at each other. Erza and Lucy were talking and giggling about, who knows what and my brother just walked silently with a big smile on his face. It was the first time I've seen him genuinely and contently smile since the day that mom died. This day seemed perfect, like nothing bad could possibly ruin it.

…

After about an hour of walking, we reached the end of town and were nearly to the village. We could see the large wooden gates in a distance, as well as a few creatures soaring over head. We were too far to distinguish exactly what they were, whether they were demons or young dragons. They were a variety of different shapes, sizes, and colors.

We saw a man look down at us from on top of the gate, but he quickly jumped back down. Slowly, the gates creaked open and a view of the village quickly came in to sight. It was exactly how I remembered it, the houses were arranged in a circle around a huge well that laid in the center of the village. The chief, aka the doc's house was located directly north of the gate, far behind a number of houses and bush. It was almost as if it were separated from the rest of the village. Literally, it was in the middle of the forest.

A young woman greeted us at the gates. "You are the ones that accepted the request right, allow me to lead you to the chief."

We nodded and followed the woman, being greeted by many of the villagers as we passed. Everyone seemed happy, despite the fact that they were being tormented by the demons, or dragons, or whatever. That's when I thought to myself, "_Come to think of it, I should probably ask about it, whether we're here for demons or for dragons._" So I asked the woman.

Gajeel grunted, "No matter what it is, I'll take 'em all out."

Natsu head butted Gajeel, growling, "I'll take 'em allout, _way_ before you get a chance!"

While the two continued their idiotic argument, the woman answered the few of us actually listening. "It seems that they only start attacking at night, otherwise they just fly above the village. At first, it seemed as if only demons were attacking. One week after we sent out the request to slay the demons, it became apparent that baby dragonssomehow found themselves being attracted to our small village. Instead of putting them together as one request, Doctor Helios decided it would be easier on the mages for them to work together to drive away both species of creatures."

"Wouldn't it be cheaper to just make one request, saying all of that. How can such a small village, afford to waste money like that?" Lucy asked, probably thinking about her unpaid rent.

That's when the woman smiled at us and said, "If money is your only concern, then you need not worry. This village, though it may be small, is very rich. We keep our wealth secret to avoid treasure hunters and pirates." Then she flashed a glimmering gold necklace with a large emerald in the center that was well hidden behind the collar of her shirt.

Wendy said to me, "You never mentioned that the village was rich."

"Like she just said, they kept it a secret, even since Tanzeru and I were kids. We can't just tell people unless we get gramps' permission."

Charle raised an eyebrow as she argued, "We're teammates on a job, you shouldn't withhold any sort of information you know."

I remained silent to avoid a long and boring lecture about how trust in a team is important and blah, blah, blah, annoying stuff. After we passed the last row of houses, we ended up in the forest, the doc's house close in sight. I could see the shock on everyone's face as we approached the house. I guess they didn't expect to see something like this out in the middle of the forest.

Looking up in disbelief, Gray commented "Amazing! I'm not sure if it's more like a small hotel or a big inn."

Happy added, "It's nothing like the other houses in the village, this one is huge and pretty!"

Even Erza found the sight amazing. "Its very well decorated, probably very expensive."

Suddenly, the young woman popped up between everyone and said, "It costs less than one percent of the village's fortunes to maintain. And we spent even less money to build it."

The building was almost twice the size of a normal house. There was a large bell mounted on the top of the roof, used for ceremonial purposes. There were gems encrusted in the walls. Rubies, emeralds, and diamonds alike were aligned horizontally along the house. It was painted a pastel white color with a light green trim.

When we entered the house, there was a rope hanging from the roof. "You may pull it if you like." the young lady said, noticing the group stare at the rope questionably. Natsu walked up to pull it, but then Erza held him back and said, "We don't know what it would do, so it would be better to leave it."

Tanzeru finally broke his long silence, assuring "Don't worry, it's just like a doorbell system. It's to alert the good doctor that he has visitors."

Natsu grabbed the rope and pulled on it as hard as he could. Suddenly a series of chimes and bells started ringing throughout the entire building. It lasted about three minutes before all the bells and chimes stopped ringing. "If the chief is here, he'll take a while to answer so allow me to show you to your rooms. Oh, and I also forgot to mention, my name is Shiruna and please call me if you have any problems. The creatures won't attack until night, so it would be best for you to rest now."

She led us upstairs and showed us to our rooms, boys in one room, girls in the next. Tanzeru was a pretty gentle guy so I was worried about him. Was he going to survive until nightfall in a room with Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel, the three brawling idiots? Come to think of it, I'm sorry for Happy too, he has to follow one of those idiots around. Regardless, I told Tanzeru to watch his back, even if he had no magic to speak of. He was still smart, so he could probably survive if he played his cards right.

Now here's my problem. I have trouble falling asleep around people I don't know that well. Erza's not the problem, since I knew her before I knew Tanzeru, and Wendy seems like an innocent enough kid. Lucy's okay, I guess, she doesn't seem to be much of a threat even if she turns out to be an enemy of mine. She uses Celestial Magic, I can tell since she carries those keys around, but other than that, she's harmless enough. And Charle… well no worries, its just a flying cat, her bark is probably worse than her bite (wait, cats don't bark, well you know what I mean anyway). Basically, I don't think I have to worry around this bunch, so I can probably sleep soundly.

As we got adjusted to our room, we heard a knock on the door. "Its open!" Charle yelled.

Slowly Shiruna opened the door as she happily spoke, "It seems as if the chief is not here at the moment, but a messenger has been sent to alert him of your arrival and he should be back soon. I've already told the boys the message."

Still a bit worried, I asked, "Exactly what are the boys doing at the moment."

She blinked a bit before stating, "They were fighting the last time I saw them. Poor white-haired kid was in the corner trying to avoid getting hit from their magic. Those three were really causing a big commotion in there."

The only thing I could do was let out a big sigh and hope for the best. I could only imagine Tanzeru whimpering in the corner with those three yankees causing destruction, I just hope we won't have to pay for damages. As Shiruna left and closed the door behind her I could hear Lucy giggling behind me. Embarrassed I yelled, "What the hell are you laughing at?"

"You! I find it amazing how you worry so much about him even though you're not legally related."

"I'm not worried about him, idiot. I'm worried about what your three friends are going to cost us if we have to pay damages." I lied trying to cover up the fact that she found me out.

"Say what you want, but even I could tell that you were worrying over Tanzeru. You've always been that kind of person, a tsundere who would put their life on the line to protect someone else." Erza added to my embarrassment.

"You sound more like a big brother than a big sister." Wendy giggled.

"I dare you to say that again." I growled.

Charle put the icing on the cake as she said, "I admit, it is truly admirable of you to go through such lengths and hardships to stay with him, despite the fact that you aren't related." I felt really good at that moment before Lucy asked, "Could it possibly have something to do with your dead little brother, like you're trying to replace him? To complete that promise you had with your real mom?"

Suddenly I felt the atmosphere around me turn cold, I'm sure even Lucy realized that she had stepped into a minefield at that moment. I was too shocked, too flustered with emotions, to even say anything before the door creaked open.

Slowly and gravely I turned to see Tanzeru's crying face peek through the door. His teeth were clenched, but slowly he opened them as he spoke, "Is that all I was, a replacement?"

It felt like an arrow went through my heart and lightning violently rampaged through my stomach. I don't think I've ever felt worse, not even on a train, than when Tanzeru asked that question. I opened my mouth but even my vocal cords were confused with what to say, so not one word came out.

"You can't say anything anymore? Well then, I'll speak." I've never heard Tanzeru speak in such a tone, like it was deepened by despair and accented by pain. "All this time, I've been lied to? And even worse, strangers knew about this before me. That I was just there to replace your real brother. That all that time we spent together, you were just imagining I was your dead brother so you could keep a promise to your real mother."

I was outraged by the accusations that Tanzeru pinned on me. I wasn't even thinking when I spoke, I was just angry that Tanzeru thought that I would think about him like that. "I never thought about it like that, and I didn't want you to find out this way, but never once have I thought about you as a replacement. you could never replace my real brother. Even if I only knew him for a few weeks, maybe less, maybe more, you could never replace blood."

Tensions grew high and the argument attracted Happy, Gajeel, Natsu, and Gray to the room. Even Shiruna came up to see what was going on. Tanzeru and I were both saying things that we never thought we could ever say in any kind of situation.

"I could never replace blood huh. Who ever said that I wanted to be a replacement, if I knew I that you weren't really my sister, I never would have accepted you in our family. What kind of idiot would accept such a dangerous lightning rod into their family anyway unless they thought they were blood? Why would I accept the person who killed my father, into my family? Someone who attracted the lightning that caused mom to die. Why would I accept the person who physically and mentally scarred me for life and practically single-handedly destroyed my every happiness, unless they were my blood related sister! One of the few happy moments of my life was meeting my real big sister, and now I find out that it was all a lie, and I have to find out from some stranger. Why should I listen to you now, if you couldn't say anything before?"

"That's why you're an idiot…" There they were, the tears I thought I had run out of. I thought I would never feel their cold path tracing down my face again, but there they were. I felt my body tense up as the droplets hit the floor. "You were always an idiot, easily fooled. You're parents didn't even have to make up a story for you to believe them. Then it turned out that I was the black cat in your life that you should have never taken in, am I right, or as you more accurately put it, the lightning rod that brought destruction to your happiness, right. I knew I was destined to suffer, so why bring down some other family with me? Guess I was just a cursed black cat, forced to be spat upon by the world, crying and searching for some kind-hearts to share their happiness. But all I did was eat up all their happiness. That's my life, in my own words I guess."

After I said all that, I finally realized what I had done. I looked over at Tanzeru and realized his fists were clenched so tightly, his veins were popping out. His teeth were clenched so tightly, it seemed to be straining his jaw. He cried so much, it seemed his tears were as endless as the ocean. His eyes were shut so tight, it seemed like he was trying to escape from an endless nightmare. The endless nightmare… that I caused. I had even forgotten that there were people watching us, the only figure I could see was what seemed to be the broken pieces left of Tanzeru, the person right in front of me. Realizing that he had no idea how to respond, I slowly, almost regretfully asked him, "So now that you know, what do you want me to do about it?"

"Leave."

I was surprised by his almost immediate response and the rough tone he used as he said it. Everyone tried to talk him into a different decision, but it seemed I was the only one who actually could see he meant it with just about every being of his soul, though I tried to shun away from it. That's when he repeated himself, in a way more clear for the others.

"Leave, I don't want to be anywhere near you. You didn't want to join Fairy Tail anyway, so no one's stopping you from leaving right now. Leave and never come into my life again."

You couldn't get more clear than that, while the others tried to persuade him to reconsider, I slowly grabbed my things, slipped myself out the window and dropped two stories, tactfully landing on my feet. I fell from higher places, this was nothing. As I hit the ground, I looked up at the window, only to see some of them crowd to the window, trying to convince me to come back. I ignored them, though. If Tanzeru didn't want me there, then there was no reason to stay, right? I did the only thing I thought I could to ease Tanzeru's pain, even if just a little. I left, bag on back and board secured in it.

I ran into the forest and out of their sights, I could hear their voices calling out to me, though slowly fading. I traveled far into the forest, the further I get away from Tanzeru, the happier he'll be. That was my philosophy at the moment anyway.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_Here ends another exciting chapter of the Traveling Mage (I know I spelt it wrong in the title). Karina's life was now crumbling before her eyes. Suddenly, her perfect dream turned into an unimaginable nightmare. The last bit of family she knew has now supposedly stood against her, but all for good reason,… right?_


	10. Lightning To Lightning

**Author's Note**:_I want to see exactly how quickly I can get this story done. So, I put all other stories on hold so I can finish this one since it's nearly completed. So, here it is, Chapter 9. Old-fashioned lightning dragon slayer meets new-fashioned lightning dragon slayer (Too long to be the actual title though)_

* * *

**Chapter 9:  
**_**Lightning -To- Lightning**_

I ran into the forest and out of their sights, I could hear their voices calling out to me, though slowly fading. I traveled far into the forest, the further I get away from Tanzeru, the happier he'll be. That was my philosophy at the moment anyway.

Furiously the tears ran from my eyes being carried off by the wind behind me as every moment of my life flashed across the trees in my path. I wasn't looking where I was going, I couldn't bear to go through all the pain in my life again. In the distance, I heard thunder crash, rain was beginning to pour. As I splashed through the puddles forming beneath me, I slipped and slid. I slid into a tree and hit my back against the trunk.

Yet again, lightning strikes on the worst of days for me, but this time, I'm all alone. Every time lightning struck, there was someone to console me, usually that someone was Tanzeru. Seeing someone else suffer beside me made me strong enough to protect both of our hearts, or at least that's what I thought. The truth was, the truth that Tanzeru told me himself, that all I did was make him suffer more. I can't help but think that if Tanzeru had never met me, then maybe, just maybe, he could have lived a perfectly happy life. I laughed at my own ignorance, never realizing how Tanzeru really felt.

I smiled, realizing that now I was alone. I let the cold rain match my even colder tears. It was a chilling experience… then why? Why was I smiling? Why was I laughing? Have I finally lost my sanity, have I finally gone insane? Confused, I pulled myself back up to my feet. I stopped smiling, stopped laughing, now I was just expressionless, and emotionless. I was slowly walking through the torrential rains before I realized a figure leaning on a nearby tree.

He had blond, spiked hair and a scar on his right eye. He wore strange-looking headphones and a purple collar shirt with black pants. His hands were in his pocket as he stared into the sky thoughtfully. I walked up to him and sat on the opposite side of the tree. For a few moments we were silent, he stood tall while I sat quietly.

"What's a girl doing walking around the forest during a storm?" He asked.

"What's a guy doing leaning on a tree in the middle of the forest during a storm?" I mocked.

"That's my own business what I'm doing here."

"Same with me."

We continued to talk, never actually looking at each other. We just stared forward, thinking about our situations. I may not know his situation, but by the way he was staring into the sky, it was obvious he had one.

"I think we should get out of the rain, lightning can be dangerous you know." he said.

"You don't have to worry about me when it comes to lightning."

"I don't have a problem with lightning either, that's why I'm out here. But rain can make you sick, let's go."

…

We left the forest and walked back into Clover Town. There was a lighter rain here than in the forest, but it was still raining. We went into a café, in fact it was the same café Tanzeru and I broke into, (well, mostly me), before we left for Magnolia. We sat at the same table Tanzeru and I sat at, staring out into a rain, that was similar to the one that poured when Tanzeru and I were here. It seemed too nostalgic to be coincidence.

The guy ordered a cup of coffee, but I didn't get anything. I was too busy sulking and staring out the window. He took a sip of his coffee and broke the silence.

"The name's Luxus. Luxus Dreyar."

I was a bit zoned out at the moment. So I didn't say anything. That's when he gripped my shirt and growled, "Hey, when I introduce myself, don't make it seem like nothing."

I've had a weird feeling about this guy since the moment I saw him. It's the same feeling I get when lightning is about to strike, but I figured it was just the storm. But now, I feel it again and it's stronger now that he's closer. I swat his hands away and said, "I'm Karina Va… just Karina." Since Tanzeru doesn't want anything to do with me, I shouldn't entertain the thought of calling myself _Van Kreizer_.

"I told you my first _and_ last name, you better show some respect. _Just Karina_, don't screw with me. So what, you don't have a last name?"

Immediately I answered, "No I don't."

He glared at me for a few moments and then sipped some more of his coffee. Then he said, "I have a feeling, that we both have our problems." Then he sighed a bit and continued, "If you wanna talk about it, I'm all ears."

I sighed wondering if I should tell him or not and eventually I gave in and told him the whole story, or more like a summary.

…

When I was finished, he outburst with laughter which upset me, but it was refreshing to get it all off my chest. This guy seemed alright, even if he acted like a jerk sometimes. "Let me tell you something…" his laughter began to subside as he wisely spoke, "Family is very important, not something you want to screw over. I ended up learning that the hard way. Whether they're related to you or not doesn't make family. Your family members are the people who always have your back and who'd fight a war with you even if it's a losing battle. Somehow, friendship seems to sometimes grow stronger than any blood relation, it's some weird thing I would never understand, but I witnessed it first hand, so there's no way I could deny it."

This guy may seem like the type who rushes and thinks he could get whatever he wants, but really after hearing him say all that, it was obvious he wasn't out in that forest for nothing. He really sounds like he was brooding over something for a long time. I felt like I had to at least hear his story, to return the favor.

"What kind of things have been going on in your life? You seem like someone who really had a lot to think about, besides I told you my story now let me hear yours."

He chuckled a bit and told me his story. From how his father was forced to leave Fairy Tail by his grandfather Master Makarov, to how he foolishly set up a fighting festival to see who the strongest fairy was leading to him being kicked out as well. He told me everything, he seemed to deeply regret what he did. Like if he had the chance to, he would stop himself from doing it. "Listen, you don't want to end up like me, hated by your closest, maybe your only true family. Take my advice, as a new-fashioned lightning dragon slayer to their counter-part."

I couldn't help but get up to my feet, full of energy and a new view on life. Even if Tanzeru hated me, I have to apologize. Even if he never forgives me, I'll have to make it up to him the best way I can, at least then, I would have made it known that I was willing to admit where I was wrong. I grabbed my bag off the ground, as Luxus finished his coffee. He curiously looking up at me as I smiled at him. I slung my bag over my shoulder and grabbed his wrist when he put down his coffee cup.

I pulled him out of his chair and dragged him out the café. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he grunted.

"If there's anything I realized about Fairy Tail, is that they can't truly hate someone like you. Maybe you can't talk to them as a fellow member of Fairy Tail, but you could still talk to them like your nakama."

He pulled away from me and rubbed his wrist as he grumbled, "That's not my style."

He stood in a thoughtful pose for a moment, then he said, "But it would be fun to mess with those Fairy Tails again, especially Natsu and Erza. Could be a real treat."

He said that, but I could tell it wasn't what he meant. We were making our way back to the forest, I didn't even realize when the storm had subsided. As soon as we stepped foot in the forest, he stopped me.

A bit irritated I said, "What? We don't have much time to waste you know, the sun will be down any minute."

"I don't think they'll finish the job on their first shot at it. I'm sure we got some time to catch up, meanwhile you need to get over your fear of lightning and just learn how to control it. It might come in handy sooner or later."

I was a bit hesitant at first, but you know what they say, once you face your greatest fear and defeat it, what strength does fear have left? So I decided to let Luxus train me. As soon as I agreed he put on a wicked smile that made me feel uneasy, like I might regret it.

We went deeper into the forest until the only things that were visible were the trees and the bushes. I threw my bag down next to a tree.

"So what are we gonna do now…" I was cut off by a lightning bolt that just barely missed my face and ripped through the tree behind me. The tree fell, lopsided by a giant hole and a largely burnt area right in the center of the trunk.

I turned to look at Luxus who was completely revved up, lightning engulfing both of his fists. He smiled and said "The best way to control lightning magic is to conquer lightning itself. Now, Karina, conquer my lightning."

I was lucky the first time, but luck isn't something to rely on in this kind of situation. I had to focus here, this was a life or death situation! I took off my gloves, I didn't need them if this was training for lightning, I had to turn my back on wind magic if I want to truly control lightning.

Luxus shot a bolt of lightning at me again, but this time I froze up. I wanted to move, but my body was too used to fearing lightning. I took the hit at full blast as a result. It felt even harsher than natural lightning, I couldn't believe that there was a possibility that I could control something like this. Such destructive power, I felt it course through my veins before exiting my body. _Amazing_ was all I could think as I fell to my knees. My clothes were burnt and my skin was a bit charred. My entire body went numb.

Despite the massive power behind the hit, I was able to stand to my feet again, though I had to inhale deeply to catch some air. "We may be moving to fast after all, let's start small." He said rubbing the back of his head.

The first part of my training was forcing it into my hands and then making stay there. Apparently, it was a necessary technique in order to punch with lightning fists, or to blast the lightning out of my hands. I practiced facing a tree while Luxus watched. It was more difficult than it seemed, I haven't done it in years so I don't even remember how to.

Often times I would try to bring it down into my hands, but would lose control and the lightning would disperse throughout my entire arm. Each time I did that, it felt like the lightning was ripping and shredding through my muscles all the way down to my bones. It was stronger than ever due to the fact it was building up for so long, but that also made it harder to control. Despite the obvious pain, I had to get up each time. My arms were charred and my sleeves were already burnt off. I couldn't stop my arm from twitching but I still tried.

After what felt like one thousand failed attempts, Luxus asked "Ready to give up yet?"

I could barely feel my arms and was practically gasping for air, but I still raised my fists and continued to practice. The sun was already set and the moon was nearly to the top of the sky. Luxus walked away a while back after getting tired of watching me fail so many times. When I was just about ready to give up, I finally did it. The lightning shot from my hand and into the sky, I could barely contain the excitement. To make sure it wasn't a fluke, I shot it again, and again, and again. It felt amazing to finally do it! Despite my tattered clothing, the blood that was draining from the side of my mouth, and the blood that was rolling down my arms, I felt like I ruled the world.

I ran in search of Luxus, only to find him resting against a tree. He opened his eyes wearily and asked, "Ready to give up now?" Of course, his eyes widened when I shot a lightning bolt past his head, just like he had done to me. I mocked, "Does it look like I'm giving up anytime soon? I'm ready for the next step."

He snickered as he rose to his feet and dusted himself off. "What's so funny?" I asked him.

"There is no next step."

Noticing the confusion in my expression, he continued, "Once you've mastered that move, you've mastered everything you'll need. Focus, Balance, Strength, and Control, the basis of all lightning techniques. Now that you understand that, you can do anything you want with lightning once you figure out how much of each component you need to use the move. As an old-fashioned dragon slayer, I figure this kind of instinct comes naturally to you."

The rest of the night was spent on learning different techniques. Luxus would show me some of the moves he developed and it was my job to mimic them. From transporting myself using lightning, to drawing a controlled amount of it from the sky. Then he told me any other moves I use would be completely up to my imagination.

In the distance, I could see Fairy Tail's fight with the creatures. Fire being shot rampantly into the air, ice shards soaring, and swords sent flying. Iron poles being launched into the air and gates to the Celestial Dimension being opened. Even small tornadoes being formed in the sky. It was obvious there were a lot of creatures, since every time one was blasted away, it seemed like three more came diving from the night sky. This was definitely not going to be an easy fight for Fairy Tail, though I found myself being more worried over Tanzeru than any other.

Despite the distractions, Luxus and I continued to train. After I learned every technique I supposedly needed to know, my body collapsed on the ground. Luxus and I were sparring, but I was much more tired and worn out than he seemed, or maybe it was just his fighting experience that made our fight seem like nothing to him.

I smiled realizing how much I had accomplished after meeting this Luxus person. Then he said, "You know, you can probably eat lightning."

"That doesn't sound possible, or tasty, or healthy to say the least."

"Seriously, Natsu could eat fire and it makes him stronger. Gajeel eats things with iron in it and it makes him strong. Even that new kid, Wendy, eats air or something like that and gets stronger."

"So I could shoot the lightning directly into my mouth and I'll get stronger?"

"No, Natsu said it's wrong to eat your own magic, so it has to be someone else's bolt, or natural lightning."

To an outsider, that probably would have sounded like a weird conversation. If I hadn't gone through as much as I have and if I hadn't seen everything I saw, I probably would have thought Luxus was crazy. But still, the idea of eating lightning seemed dangerous so I didn't bother with it.

I fell asleep that night on the ground, laying next to Luxus leaning against a tree. I fell asleep in worse places, so it wasn't much. Still, I was able to fall asleep with a big smile on my face, ignoring the loud explosions in the distance from the fight. I had already decided in my mind I would go to Tanzeru first thing in the morning. I may not have completely gotten over my fear yet, but at least I could control it now, instead of it being the other way around.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _A chapter who's only two characters are Luxus and Karina. The next chapter may just be the last one, maybe, if I do it right. But, I just felt like Luxus had to be in this, I mean, Karina's like his old-fashioned counter part. Will Karina and Tanzeru make up, or will all of Karina's training go down the drain? What surprises await you in the next chapter? You'll have to wait and find out! Meanwhile, please feel free to review._


	11. A Curse Till The End

**Author's Note:** _I'm back for what seems like it will be my final time writing on Traveling Mage, Karina. Will Tanzeru forgive Karina? Will their job hold more surprises than anticipated? What will become of Tanzeru and Karina? All these questions and more will be answered here, hopefully. So here it is, the final chapter, 'A Curse Till the End'. Read and enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 10:  
**_**A Curse Till the End**_

I awoke to the morning sun rays glimmering through the trees. Despite my new look on life, I woke up in a panic. I had a nightmare that I couldn't explain or even understand. It was blurry, but I saw dragons and lightning. They were both tearing through the skies themselves. It seemed almost unnatural and ominous. But, I couldn't see anything else, after that it all just went… blank.

Luxus lazily sat up and yawned. He looked up at me and grunted wearily, "What's up with you? You look like you had a nightmare or something."

Maybe, this dream had no real meaning. It was probably nothing. "Nah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Wasn't planning to worry but whatever. When do we set out?"

I grabbed my bag and slung it on my back as I demanded, "Now! The sooner, the better."

Truthfully, that dream had me a little shaken up and I was afraid that something bad might have happened to Tanzeru and the others. I just wanted to check on everyone as soon as possible.

So Luxus and I set off heading east from where we were. The village wasn't too far. On our way, we saw a tall, slightly rounded man wearing a white coat. He had a grey, full beard and wore glasses, though he was clearly middle-aged. He was stroking his beard with one hand as he pointed in numerous directions. It seemed as if he was confused, almost as if he was lost. Recognizing the jolly, old man, I yelled, "Gramps! Over here!"

He turned slightly and laughed a bit under his breath. I ran towards him, Luxus trailing behind me, grumbling to himself about something.

"You recognize me, right gramps?"

With a chuckle, he responded, "I may not be the best in memory but, there are only two people in this world that call me gramps. Probably from the fact, I have no children."

I looked at him a bit, surprised that he could remember anything. Then I realized something and quickly asked, "Then tell me, what's my name?"

Almost immediately, he said, "Now's not the time for games, I got lost on my way back to the village. Could any of you help me out?"

Luxus slowly and with a slight tone of distaste, pointed out, "We're on our way to the village too."

I just stood in silence as the two spoke, surprised at how easily and quickly he changed the topic. He would always do something like that when he didn't want to admit his own forgetfulness and even today, it still works out in his favor.

"Hey this is no time for you to be daydreaming, we going or not?" Luxus growled. It seems that while I was spacing out, Luxus agreed to let Dr. Helios come with us. We were heading to his place anyway.

We started walking again with our newly added companion. The three of us remained silent, coming from three totally different backgrounds, there were actually very few things we could all relate to. Soon, Dr. Helios broke the awkward silence as he questioned Luxus, "Tanzeru, I don't quite remember you being blond, when did you do that?"

Quickly I corrected him, "No, no, no. That's not Tanzeru."

Ignoring me, he continued to question, "That scar across your eye is new, too. Wasn't the scar on your shoulder down to your elbow or somewhere along those lines?"

"Like I said that's not Tanzeru." still trying to convince him. Again, I was completely ignored.

"Come to think of it, your eyes weren't that color either."

Finally I snapped yelling, "Listen to me, damn. I said, that's not Tanzeru!"

"Then who is it?"

"That's Luxus, he introduced himself to you, remember?"

Surprised, he turned towards Luxus and yelled, "Tanzeru, when did you change your name to Luxus! What kind of name is that anyway?"

By this time, Luxus was angrily gritting his teeth with a smile of insanity on his face. He gripped the doctor and yelled, "What are you, deaf! Or are you just plain stupid? Didn't she just say I'm not Tanzeru! I never was and never will be, okay! Now get it through your thick friggin' skull!"

I knew I _should_ have done something, but it was actually kind of funny. After Luxus shook the doctor until he fainted, he cooled off and we had to carry the sleeping doctor. By _we_, I meant Luxus since it was his fault anyway.

Soon, we arrived to Dr. Helios' home and that's when it struck me. Like electricity stunned every fiber of my being, I was stopped cold in my tracks. Suddenly, I had a vision, or more like another piece of the puzzling dream I had earlier.

Again, I saw the dragons and lightning ripping through the skies, but, in addition to that, I saw a black-haired woman. She was standing on top of the largest dragon that seemed to be leading the others. This dragon, was much different from the others. It was… truly sinister, evil literally leaked from beneath its scales. Then, that woman, she was even more ominous,… no… she was pure, concentrated evil, the dragon stood no comparison to her. Her appearance was deceitful, I could have easily been fooled, but something in my mind was telling me not to judge a book by its cover. It revealed to me her true form, something, extremely… terrifying. Then sinfully, she snickered, as if she was piercing my soul through my dream. I felt like someone had me in a strangle-hold while driving a knife through my heart.

…

"Hey. HEY, Karina! You still with us?"

I snapped away from my vision and held my head. It was all so much to take in at once, but for some reason, I felt that it was still only the beginning. Like, there was more, much more I'll have to deal with. Still, it scared me, down to the marrow of my very bones, I was really, sincerely, _genuinely_ _terrified_.

"Gee Karina, you've been acting weird all day, what's up?" Luxus grumbled with underlined concern.

"It's nothing. Like I said, don't worry about it."

Silently he muttered, "You saying that isn't gonna help my situation."

Pretending I didn't hear him, I arrogantly asked, "Excuse me, something you wanna say?"

Mockingly he used and repeated my own words against me. _"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."_

Shrugging it off, we proceeded to the entrance when the old doctor spontaneously yelled, "Wait! I've got to… got to…", then slowly and calmly he snored his way back into his dreamland. Although I tried to hold it in, I couldn't help but burst into laughter, while Luxus on the other hand, gave an irritated sigh. It was a good way to ease the tension at least.

I opened the front door since Luxus had his hands full. As soon as I swung the door open, I was greeted by a heated iron pillar flying into my stomach that, in turn, sent me flying back into a tree. Thankfully, I was able to throw it off of me. Normally that would have hurt a lot, but after a night of training from Luxus, that was nothing. Of course, that didn't make me any less angry as I yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you two! Fighting first thing in the morning!"

Gajeel and Natsu were gripping each other as they looked at me and simultaneously, and with no form of care, said "Oh, welcome back."

I balled my fist, holding back the anger and the words that might have accidentally slipped out as I thought to myself, "That's all I get, '_oh, welcome back.'_, screw them!"

"No hi for me huh, and here I thought you guys would miss me." Luxus said sarcastically realizing that the two didn't even realize he was there.

Natsu let go of Gajeel, hopped up, and screamed with fire coming out of his mouth, "Luxus, Fight me!"

He was silenced by Luxus' foot in his face as Luxus angrily spoke, "You're too excited first thing in the morning."

Ignoring Natsu, whom was stomping around, yelling nonsense and breathing fire, Gajeel coldly asked, "What are you doing here, Luxus?"

Luxus remained silent, I could feel the cold atmosphere between the two from where I was. It was intense, so to stop the trouble from brewing, I quickly defended, "I brought him with me."

Expecting Gajeel to get angry or something, he shocked me. "Okay then, who's the old geezer taking a nap of his shoulder?", he said, pointing to a snoring Dr. Helios who still laid peacefully across Luxus' shoulder.

As Luxus lowered the doctor down, he grunted, "I actually forgot I was carrying him for a second there."

He violently shook Dr. Helios until I held his hands back and yelled, "What are you trying to do, kill him!"

Luxus argued, "That ain't gonna kill him so easy."

Dr. Helios peeked his eyes open and blinked a few time. "My, my, what am I doing here? Don't tell me I'm lost again."

Out of pity, I tapped his shoulder and pointed towards the house and said, "You're home, remember."

That's when it hit me and I asked, "Where are the others? All the noise we're making down here, even if they were sleeping we would have woken them up."

Natsu suddenly stopped rampaging and answered me, "Oh, they went on a tour of the village with Shiruna. I didn't want to go and metal head over there just wanted to copy me."

"I think it was the other way around, you copied me."

Again the two were butting heads and fighting. "Why do they want a tour?"

Gajeel grunted in breaths as he fought Natsu, "After we only took out like thirty out of the hundreds of 'em flying, and none of the thirty were dragons, Erza thought it would be a good idea if we set up stations and fight where we'll be most effective or something."

"I see, well I guess it's okay if we…" my sentence was cut short as I experienced another piece of the dream. This time, I could see the whole setting instead of just the sky. The area seemed familiar, it looked like a broken down version of the village. Corpses were scattered about, it was like a post-apocalyptic scene from a movie. Shiruna was standing in the middle of the village staring at me with a wicked smirk lining her cheeks. I turned my head and could see the members of Fairy Tail, even Luxus, laying in defeat. I ran into the forest, but Shiruna followed close-by. I turned back, but what I saw was Shiruna transforming into the evil woman who was standing on top of the dragon earlier. I reached Dr. Helios' home, only to discover it in crumbles, Natsu and Gajeel under the rubble unconscious. I was severely confused, unable to figure out what was going on, and why I was seeing all this.

"Yo, you're spacing out again." Luxus said standing in the entrance of the house, Dr. Helios standing right next to him. That dream, it couldn't be coincidence. I pulled Luxus and Dr. Helios away from the building since they were the closest to me and I yelled to Gajeel and Natsu, "You guys! Quit playing, get out there, now!"

They simply stared at me questionably but right now, there wasn't any time to explain so I yelled again, this time with panic evident in my voice, "This isn't a game! Seriously guys, get out of there!"

Just as I spoke, a large dragon, almost as big as the one from my dream, swooped down and drew lightning from its mouth. It blasted out the lightning like a cannon beam. The blast produced a blinding light that engulfed the entire building. I could only hear Natsu and Gajeel's screams as the lightning struck them, my eyes bolted shut from the light.

As the lightning finally dispersed, I peeked my eyes open. Soon my narrowed eyes grew wide as I realized my dream was coming true, in a way. Natsu and Gajeel were buried under rubble and rocks left over from the collapsed building, unconscious. It wasn't in the exact order of my dream but it was still too eerie to ignore.

"What the hell just happened?" Luxus asked, still trying to understand what was going on.

Dr. Helios stared at the sight where his home once stood in shock and disbelief. Everyone was trying to piece together this impossible puzzle, and I just got another piece. Another vision popped into my head. This time I saw Tanzeru, holding his bleeding arm as his scar reopened. He was on his knees and was staring up at the sky. Suddenly, almost spontaneously, the largest lightning bolt I had ever seen, tore the skies as it ripped down swiftly towards Tanzeru. There was definitely impact since I saw an explosion that stretched throughout the entire forest. It seems that,… I may have just witnessed… Tanzeru's death.

I rushed towards the village pulling Luxus along with me, and Dr. Helios on my back. He wasn't much of a runner and right now, time is everything.

I was definitely relieved to see the village still inside it's happy state, everything just seemed a bit quiet. Come to think of it, where was everyone? No one was outside, and I couldn't see anyone inside the buildings. No sign of Tanzeru and the others, no sign of anyone.

"What has happened to my village? Where are the people?" Dr. Helios asked with great concern. It was definitely a mystery.

Soon I heard footsteps steadily stroll behind us. Slowly I turned my head, and out the corner of my eye, I could see a smirk lining someone's face. I quickly turned completely around to reveal it was Shiruna.

"Who are you, and where is the rest of Fairy Tail?" I sneered.

"What is the meaning of this Shiruna, do you know what is going on?" Dr. Helios questioned.

In the blink of an eye, she was standing in front of him. "Your research was a great help doctor, but now I'm afraid it's time for you to die…", and just like that Dr. Helios fell to the floor, knife embedded in his stomach and blood draining from his mouth.

"You bastard." I grunted as I attacked her. I was so angry, I wasn't even thinking as I fought, I made it easy for her to read my moves and dodge my attacks. However, she didn't count on Luxus attacking from behind as she just barely dodged his lightning-powered punch.

"Such annoying pests!" she mocked as a dragon swooped down to pick her up. It was the same dragon that was leading the rest in my vision. As the dragon ascended, Shiruna transformed before our eyes. She became that woman of pure evil, or maybe, that's who Shiruna truly was.

Luxus pointed up at her with anger in his eyes and lightning sparking from his headphones. "Why are you here, Urtear!"

She remained silent, her smirk gradually growing longer. The dragon, along with the crew behind it, flew away in the opposite direction leaving behind the echoes from her fiendish, mocking laugh. I wanted to kill her, I wanted to kill her so bad, but right now, first things first. I have to find out what she was talking about. However, it didn't seem that Luxus had the same idea as I did, as all I could see was the cloud of dust that trailed behind him as he chased after them. I would have stopped him, but by the time I realized, he was too far gone.

I kneeled at Dr. Helios' side as he choked and coughed. I wasn't a doctor, and he couldn't heal himself, so this might just be the end. He started to mutter something but I couldn't quite hear him. "What did you say?"

"I should have trusted my instinct, she seemed like such a nice girl. How could she? Why did she rob me of my research, after all those years I put into it. After my father died trying to solve this. Why?"

I knew he was a doctor, but as far as I observed, he wasn't researching anything. He would study magic a lot despite the fact he didn't have any power to speak of, but that was about it. "What research are you talking about?"

"Listen carefully, I don't know how much time I have left, so I should at least tell you. This is probably the one thing, I can never forget. About fifty years ago, my father became a very well known professor. Everyone knew the name Sebastian Helios. His research, a theory to generate dragons, a plan no one had ever seen before. He was obsessed with getting this done right, the only thing that came before research was family. However, he couldn't figure out what he needed, he never came close, though his concept was very practical. After years of research, he died in a lab accident and the only thing recovered was his notes from the theory. Everyone was afraid to take on the challenge, they were about to destroy the thing he lived, and consequently died for. That's when I decided to take on my father's work and discovered the missing ingredient. In order to generate the perfect dragon, you needed…" Suddenly his face grew grim.

I edged him on to complete his story, "You needed…"

He turned his head in remorse as he said, "A countless number of sacrifices had to be made and also,… you had to acquire a large amount of DNA similar to that of the dragons from the legend. When I found out, I immediately hid the research away, searching for new answers, starting from square one. Only Shiruna knew where the lab was hidden, but I never thought she would betray me."

I thought about his story for a while and I realized. "The only DNA that could be remotely similar to the dragons', would be…"

"The children of the original lightning dragon-slayer. But I heard they were all killed off, which is why I was surprised when I met you and you told me your story."

"But I'm right here, she couldn't have gotten any DNA from me and developed those dragons so quickly. This problem had started from before she even met me, and what about the demons, where do they fit in?"

"They're probably just the earlier attempts gone wrong before they actually started to look like real dragons. As for the DNA, she couldn't have gotten it, unless it turns out you are not the only direct descendant left."

"The only other member of my family is… my mother…" I grew silent, realizing that since I left that place, I haven't even heard from my mother. It could be possible… no, I couldn't let such a thought enter my head. "So, she perfected the dragon, that was the big one in the middle, right?"

After a long moment of silence, I turned back towards Dr. Helios and realized his eyes were closed as he laid motionless. Thunder sounded in the clouds, so I decided to follow those dragons and that Urtear person, leaving Dr. Helios' body behind, after I wrapped him in his own coat, to protect his body from rain and cold weather.

As I went deeper into the village, thunder began to roar and lightning began to strike. Still, the village looked the same, only missing the people who inhabit it. I began to think about all the faces I remember from when I was growing here, and I was lost in my own happy memories. Sadly, that meant that I lost sight of my surroundings, I didn't even realize when I was surrounded. All I know is that the second I remembered what I was doing, was the same time I realized that there were dragons on all sides of me. Now that they were close, they did look like dragons with rotting skin and incomplete appendages.

"You know, you claim to be unlucky but, for an idiot like you to survive so long was sheer luck on its own." That woman's voice echoed from above my head, but I couldn't see her. "You can't even tell the difference between reality and the illusion right before your eyes."

"Where are you? What illusion are you talking about?"

When I asked this question, the dragons dispersed, and the village was shifting shape. Finally, the ugly truth revealed itself. The scene from my vision, corpses laying across the village ground and hanging out of windows, the buildings and houses destroyed beyond recognition, and Luxus, defeated, but thankfully not dead. The rest of Fairy Tail was no where to be found.

"This was the easy job, I killed them years ago. All I had to do was have certain people create an illusion for me using the council's name, and of course, I took on the role of the most interactive member of the village."

"Where are they?"

"Who, Fairy Tail? Last time I checked, they were playing with my specially bred pets. No matter how much you kill them, they just regenerate and continue to fight."

I was getting really angry, this was the first time I was filled with so much rage and hate! I'm sure, even she could see it, that's why she continued to taunt.

"You know, acquiring the DNA wasn't all that hard either, especially after I found out that there was someone working right there at the 'Tower of Heaven'. I had Gerard send her over alive, since the fresher the sample, the better the result. She didn't seem afraid of death, but after I told her how I was going to kill her, she said to me 'The spirit never truly dies if you live your life true to yourself.' It was so foolish, I had to remember that joke as I killed her."

"Foolish?" I sneered, my rage was obvious in my tone of voice. "Foolish is what you call a person who sacrifices their humanity for an evil dream like yours."

"You are just like her, she spoke about you all the way up to her final moments. After extracting as much DNA as I could get, I was able to create the dragon you see before you. Although he seems perfect, he's not nearly at the desired level, I need a bit more DNA to genuinely perfect him. That's why your appearance was so well timed."

I was about to argue again, but was interrupted when I sensed a large amount of lightning building up. I remembered how in my dream, Tanzeru was struck by a large amount of lightning. This could be it here, and with all my power, I have to stop it from happening.

I turned away from Urtear and ran towards the place the lightning was building up. I could see a vast amount of her little 'experiments', flying through the sky. As I ran, I could feel a chill run up my spine as Urtear smirked and had the dragon whisk her away.

I ran through the village and ended up back in the forest. My path was lined by my defeated allies' unconscious bodies. Happy, Lucy, Gray, Charle and Wendy, even Erza, but I didn't have time to stop.

As I drew nearer to Tanzeru, I could see him. As depicted in my vision, Tanzeru was on his knees staring up to the sky, holding his open wound. It was obvious there was a fearsome battle, Tanzeru couldn't have survived on his own, so I thank the members of Fairy Tail, I know they protected him. Now, it's my turn to change Tanzeru's fate around.

That's when it hit me, what was possibly the final piece of that vision. My worried and panicked expression rose to a smile as I ran towards Tanzeru. I know now, it wasn't Tanzeru's death that I saw, it was my own. Whatever, I would proudly accept this death knowing that I was repaying my debt to Tanzeru after taking away his happiness.

When I finally reached him, before he could say a word, I snatched him and pushed him away, that way, he wouldn't be too close and get hit accidentally. He looked at me with narrowed eyes, as if his vision was blurred, but I simply turned to him and smiled. I was happy knowing I was finally doing something to honor those who got hurt thanks to me. The Fairy Tail members including Erza my old friend, Luxus, Dr. Helios, the villagers, even Tanzeru, were all hurt thanks to my existence, yet they were all so kind to me. I would gladly take this hit on their behalf.

When the lightning hit, I was caught directly in the center. I was in the most pain I had ever experienced in my life when the blast consumed me, but for some reason I was still smiling even as the tears flowed from my eyes. I fell to my knees and then down to the floor as my body began to shut down in me.

The powerful blast was still shooting down on me even after I was inside that thing for a good five minutes and it didn't seem to be getting any weaker. I could hear Tanzeru screaming my name the whole time. I could faintly see Tanzeru's wild tears. I was just about ready to pass on until I saw Tanzeru get up and run towards me.

I mustered up some strength and yelled, "Tanzeru, NO!", though my cries fell on deaf ears as he got closer.

I closed my eyes in pain, I didn't want to see Tanzeru get struck, but I couldn't get up to stop him. After I didn't hear a scream and the pressure from that lightning seemed to disappear, I peeked my eyes open to see Tanzeru standing right above me, but also an orb-like shield over the both of us. I turned my head to the side and could see the Fairy Tail members, excluding Gajeel and Natsu, walking (and some limping), towards us. I heard one of them say, "An absorption orb, I've never actually seen it before. It's a lost magic."

_Magic, huh._ I thought to myself as I looked back at Tanzeru's weeping face. I was about to congratulate him on his newly found magic. "Tanzeru, you…"

"Why didn't you come back?" he sobbed.

When he asked that, I was shocked, I didn't even expect it. "What are you talking about?"

"After we fight, after we separate, you always come back in a few minutes and cheer me up. But, why didn't you come back this time?" He started to get choked up on his own words. "I was waiting for you!"

"Tanzeru, I…"

A menacingly annoying voice interrupted us with a snicker. "A heart-warming reunion isn't it. Too bad that boy's flimsy magic won't hold up for long." Urtear announced.

What she said was true, I could see that the shield was ready to give way any moment now, but Tanzeru was still struggling to keep it up. His entire body was shaking, and his injury seemed to be worsening. I couldn't let him keep this up otherwise, we'd both be dead.

I slowly lifted my hand to cuff his cheek and smile at him. Soon, even his face started to soften up to a small smile. I traced my hand down his neck and down to his chest where the Fairy Tail Logo was. I knew he was in good hands and found a family that could protect him, and I trust them, even Natsu even though he really pissed me off sometimes.

"Tanzeru, listen carefully." He responded with a simple nod of the head to show he was listening.

"Live on, Live long, and Live strong. But most of all, live life the way you want to, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Be happy and enjoy every day to its fullest extent. Live for my sake, for your parents' sake, but most importantly, live for your own sake."

I saw Tanzeru's smile fall as he probably realized what I was about to do. I drew a small bit of lightning into my hand, and with its force, pushed him away. Far enough away so that he couldn't get hit. All I was thinking at that moment was, "_Lightning really was… a curse till the end I guess._"

Tanzeru got back up and attempted to run back towards me but Erza and Luxus stopped him. I could hear Tanzeru screaming and yelling, bawling like mad as they held him down. When I saw that I thought, "_It may have been a curse till the end, but… at least it was the reason I ended up being so close to him, the best thing to ever happen in my life._"

Soon, I felt the crushing pressure from that lightning blast press down on me yet again, but this time it was over quickly. It was the last remnants of the magic, so it wasn't as fierce as before, thanks to Tanzeru's absorption magic that is.

My eyes were squinted as I battled death. I couldn't even control breathing, sometimes I would stop while other times I would take in large amounts that feel like they could burst my lungs. Finally it was over and I felt my body slowly start to relax and slip away. I closed my eyes and embraced what was going to be my eternal peaceful rest.

* * *

**-Fairy Tail- (From Narrator's Point of View)**

Tanzeru was finally able to break loose of Erza and Luxus' grip, but a little too late to save his beloved sister. He ran to her side and fell to his knees. His physical pain was nothing compared to how torn up he felt on the inside. Tanzeru unleashed an ocean of tears as he held onto his sister's lifeless hand.

"Finally! Now, I can create the perfect dragon with this last bit of DNA." Urtear announced as her dragon swooped down out of the sky. They hovered just above Karina. The Fairy Tail members were ready to fight, but before they could move Tanzeru let out an angry growl. His misty blew eyes grew intense as electric sparks released from his body.

"What's happening to Tanzeru?" Wendy whimpered.

"Well it was absorption magic." Erza noted.

Gray added, "I see, all that magic he absorbed is now looking for a place to come out."

Tanzeru glared up at Urtear, his eyes daring her to make the wrong move. She smirked and said, "You don't scare me." She reached out to snatch Karina's body, but before she could, Tanzeru had already gripped the nose of her dragon.

Tanzeru's blast normally wouldn't have killed her, but due to the dragon's moist skin, the blast would have been multiplied, and that could be a huge problem. Just as Tanzeru released the magic, Urtear leaped onto one of the weaker dragons. She watched her creations be destroyed beyond recognition as the only dragon remaining whisked her away, out of their sights.

Releasing magic foreign to Tanzeru's body, so it collapsed after using so much of it. Tanzeru fell to the ground, facing his older sister and he peeked a smile.

Sudden rushing footsteps were heard coming towards them. A group of Council officers and knights came towards them. It appears they were warned of some dragon activity and they knew of Dr. Helios' research, so the Council knew it was something to worry about it. They observed the situation around them, and along with some brief interrogation, they helped the Fairies and Luxus back towards town, digging up Natsu and Gajeel from under the pile of rubble where they were fast asleep. A few of the officers and knights stayed back with Karina's body until a medical team arrived.

The members of Fairy Tail were escorted back to the train station after being treated for their injuries. Tanzeru made up in his mind that he was going to live the lifestyle Karina told him to with her last breaths. This, he vowed on his family's gravestones.

**-~-~-~-~The End-~-~-~-~**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for supporting Traveling Mage, Karina straight up to the end. Special thanks to **Queen of Weirdness** who reviewed almost every chapter and reminded me that people were still reading this story. Hope you enjoyed! See you, Bye Bye!


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